The Laura Miller George Help Center in Mexico gives out a lot of help but got some from the community last month.

Thanks to the Mexico Elks Lodge 919 the center has a new three-door reach-in freezer that can be used in the distribution center on days folks come for food. Center Director Kim Archer told the Ledger in the past frozen food items were put into tubs and covered with blankets to help keep them cold but it didn’t work very well.

“Things were starting to thaw out by the time we would get them out and people were taking them home,” Archer said. “With this, we can keep them in there and keep them at the proper frozen temperatures.”

Archer said it was a complaint by a patron the center serves that got them connected with the Elks Lodge. The center got a visit from the health department and happened to get the right person. Archer said the health inspector also happened to be a member of the Elks Lodge.

“They knew they were getting a new one,” Archer said.

The health department put Archer in touch with the Elks Lodge who were getting ready to install a new freezer and needed to find a new home for the old one.

“They called me and asked me if I wanted it and I said, ‘Yes I do,’” Archer said without hesitation.

The three-door freezer wasn’t the only gift the center received last month. Thanks to some local donations combined with a grant the center was also able to purchase a new walk-in freezer that was installed by Teel Mechanical of Fulton.

“This allows us to take in more frozen food items from the food bank in Columbia,” Archer said.   “It had been in the works for a couple of years and it finally came together.”

The Help Center’s thrift store is open daily and food distribution happens three days a week with staggered times each day to accommodate different schedules.