Hassie Green got an unexpected telephone call with an offer she couldn’t refuse.

“The caller just asked me if the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center would like to give away food and I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough,” the center director said.

The call was from the Montgomery Area Food Bank of which the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center is a member.

“I was so excited to be able to offer this service to the Center’s clients,” Green said. “We have 150 clients and we made the opportunity available to them.”

On Friday, the Montgomery Area Food Bank Mobile Pantry set up shop in the parking lot next to Southside Baptist Church and distributed food items at a collective savings of $20,964.09 to those who participated.

“This was such a great opportunity for our clients,” Green said. “They each had to fill out an application to be eligible for the food distribution and I know that they were all grateful for it. With the way the economy is, this was a real help to them.”

Jolene Kearns, program and fundraising coordinator for the area food bank, said receiving food from the mobile pantry frees up money for other things needs so it is a great service to the community.

“We contacted the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center because we are trying to increase food assistance in distressed rural areas,” Kearns said. “Pike County is one of the areas where the Montgomery Area Food Bank can be of much needed service.”

Green expressed appreciation to Kearns for making the opportunity available.

“I know they all appreciated the assistance because told me so as they came through the line,” she said.

Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, help distribute the food items, which included potatoes, teas, yogurt, bread, potato salad, juices, cabbage and milk.

Kearns said any non-profit organization may become an agency of the Montgomery Area Food Bank and be eligible to sponsor mobile pantries and food banks.

For more information, call Vickie Manley at 1-800-768-3784.