Ossian Rotary will welcome Peggy Collins as featured speaker at their weekly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24 to talk about the First Baptist Church (FBC) of Ossian Food Ministry. The church provides those in need in the community of Ossian with free groceries weekly, including bread and other baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and dairy products, as well as clothing and cleaning supplies to approximately 220 residents. Items vary weekly.
The FBC Food Ministry is one hundred percent supported and run by volunteers. Each Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon they give food away to the residents of the Ossian community who gather. Through a grant from Ossian Rotary and Rotary International, the food ministry recently acquired three large freezers for storing frozen foods to be given away weekly to those in need.
In 2014, FBC of Ossian began a Food Ministry for the town of Ossian, giving away loaves of bread to local residents. People loved getting the extra help of a loaf or two of bread. Starting in an empty store in downtown, FBC of Ossian later purchased and moved to 1001 Dehner Drive on Ossian’s north side, with 7,500 square feet of space.
In 2019, they set up an account with Community Harvest Food Bank which allowed them to purchase food at a reduced rate. As the church grew, they kept increasing their building size, which allowed them to increase their Food Ministry. Now, in 2023, they offer clothing, cleaning and laundry supplies, vitamins and diapers, as well as an increased variety of food items. Many of the residents have said without the help of the FBC Food Ministry, they would not be able to both have food on their table and afford their medications.
