TORRINGTON – Journey Assembly of God Fellowship Church and Convoy of Hope will be distributing well over two tons of food in Goshen County on Aug. 12 – and it’s absolutely free. 

The Torrington City Council unanimously approved a special event permit for the church to control the flow of traffic around their building on East F Street between 17th and 18th avenues. According to Pastor Dale Harper, the church has employed people with forklifts to unload the chow, and the church will keep it cool until it can be handed out. Cars can swing by the church and pick up their box between noon and 5 p.m.

“We’re getting 1,100 boxes,” Harper said. “Each box weighs about 45 pounds. We’re getting chicken tacos, patties and pulled pork. And so, the 45-pound box will be a combination of those three things. They will just drive through and we put it in their car.”

Harper said the food was given to Convoy of Hope by the United States Food and Drug Administration. 

“What happened is the FDA is working with some producers,” Harper said. “And they produce this stuff, and they don’t have anywhere to go with it. The FDA went to Convoy of Hope and said ‘Hey, you guys are the ones with your feet to the ground, getting things out to people. Can you do that for us?”

Convoy of Hope is a non-profit organization that works with churches, businesses, government agencies and other non-profits  to help feed people who are battling poverty and hunger. According to convoyofhope.org,  it was founded in 1994 by the Donaldson family, which drew inspiration from the help they received when their father, Harold, was killed by a drunk driver. 

To date, Convoy of Hope has fed more than 300,000 children in 18 countries, including Bangladesh, Kenya and Nepal. Recently, the group has pledged to provide 50 million meals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The only concern raised by the TCC was the traffic flow. 

“If you need any more direction, any more help, any more setup, please let us know and we could provide some help for you,” Torrington Mayor Randy Adams said. “My only concern is that there are 1,100 boxes of food, which might mean 1,100 vehicles.”

Harper explained the church has made plans for traffic flow. Vehicles will enter from 18th Avenue and drive down the alley to get their food. From there, they must exit to the right onto 17th Avenue to improve traffic flow. 

“It should be very easy.”

The TCC voted unanimously to waive the special event fee in support of the project. 

“This is a very, very great project,” Adams said. “It’s a community-minded project and we appreciate the effort.”