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GREENSBORO — A local church is giving a new meaning to the term "curbside service."

First Presbyterian Church will sponsor a food drive-by for three weeks this summer to benefit the Greensboro Urban Ministry.

Elizabeth Caccamo, who leads the church's community outreach ministry, said the drive-by is a tangible way the community can help those in need — and motorists don't even have to leave their cars to contribute.

"It's important that people

in the community have that awareness that there's such a deep need ... and the draw is so strong that the food runs out," Caccamo said.

Pat Spain, the Urban Ministry's director of food distribution, said food is in great demand because of high grocery bills.

"School is out, and so that means more bags to be given out to the families," Spain said. "And with the economy the way it is, food stamps don't last too long."

Caccamo had heard that the outreach agency's pantry ran low during summer.

Last year, her church decided to help by pitching a tent on its Elm Street parking lot and asking its members and Fisher Park Neighborhood Association members to pick up bags as cars passed by.

"Since we have this great location, and there are 23,000 cars a day that pass on North Elm Street back and forth to the downtown area, we thought we would maximize our space here by offering people (a place), at least during the morning or evening rush hour time, to stop and give food," Caccamo said.

The tent was built, and people came. Motorists donated 1,500 pounds of food and $1,500 in just one week. Spain said Potter's House serves 13,000 plates a month during its increasingly busy lunch.

Each year more than 800,000 pounds of food are distributed to Urban Ministry feeding programs and other nonprofits that serve the hungry.

Spain said food leaves the pantry as soon as it's delivered, so the Urban Ministry is grateful for any donations.

"When the pantry's low, you have to cut back on a lot of things," she said. "And we don't want to do that."

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 373-7059 or dioni.wise@news-record.com