Granbury couple organizes food drive to make sure no one goes hungry during COVID-19
For Julia Pannell, it all began with a flocking.
When the United Way of Hood County wasn’t able to hold its annual Havana Nights fundraiser because of the spread of coronavirus, the agency began “flocking” yards with plastic pink flamingos.
Each flocked house was a designated drop off site for food and other donations for organizations in need of help. After a few days, the flamingos and donation containers migrated to another lawn.
“It was a great neighborhood thing,” Pannell said.
The Granbury house where she and her husband, Bob, live was flocked in late March as COVID-19 cases continued to rise, unemployment skyrocketed and food banks were running out of food to give.
But after the flamingos moved on from their yard, the Pannells didn’t want to stop helping others in the community.
“Julia said to me, ‘Why don’t we keep doing that? People still have needs,” Bob Pannell said.
So the 79-year-olds put up a sign in their yard letting people know they would continue to accept donations for those who need it seven days a week — and they would get it to those who needed it most.
“It is amazing how this has been like a puzzle,” Julia Pannell said. “We are honored to put the pieces together.”
Roger and Karen Merrill of Granbury nominated the Pannells for recognition in the Star-Telegram’s Hometown Heroes because the couple stepped up to fill a void when food pantries weren’t getting supplies they normally receive as coronavirus cases spread across the state.
“They were supplementing a lot of the needs ... reaching out beyond food pantries to other agencies,” Roger Merrill said.
He described the Pannells as longtime supporters of the community and said they are “kind of everybody’s grandparents.”
“We’ve seen their tireless efforts in lots of different areas,” Karen Merrill said. “But they went above and beyond doing this during the pandemic.”
Hometown Heroes is sponsored by Lockheed Martin, which is providing $1,000 each week over 28 weeks to those selected by the Star-Telegram to be featured in the series.
‘What caring for each other looks like’
Julia Pannell starts every Monday morning by calling more than a handful of agencies to see what they need the most.
She makes a list and shares it through social media so people know the types of food — from cereal to ravioli to bread — that charitable groups need the most.
People from throughout the community drive to the Pannell house and leave bags of food under a covered area. Some choose to leave checks or cash so the Pannells buy the items most needed in bulk.
Not only that, but Julia Pannell gets calls from organizations with special requests — and she gets calls from businesses who find themselves with say, a surplus of milk or chicken patties or hamburger buns, that they want to donate. Julia Pannell makes a few phone calls and quickly finds a group or people who need that donation the most.
At times, the person making the donation and the person receiving the donation pull up in Pannell’s yard at the same time.
“The best feeling is to look at two people pulling up in your driveway from different organizations. One has more than they need, the other has a need,” Julia Pannell said. “They meet in our driveway to help each other out.
“That’s the real picture of what people caring for each other looks likes.”
Feeding the hungry
Right now, the Pannells are focused on gathering donations to be able to give 350 school children meals on the weekends during June and July.
Julia Pannell said she’s determined those children won’t go hungry over the summer and she’s working to gather kid-friendly food to give to them, from fruit cups and snack bars to peanut butter and canned food.
She recently celebrated her 79th birthday. All she asked for was anything people could share to give to those in need.
“I feel like God wants us to feed the hungry,” Julia Pannell said. “And this is the way to do it.”
Each week, she puts out a report updating people in the community on what they were able to donate the previous week.
A recent update included donations of more than 30 cases of soup and vegetables to People Helping People, starter meals for the new food pantry in Tolar, meals to seven families in Tolar, 20 gallons of milk to Joseph’s Locker and more.
To nominate a hometown hero
To nominate someone to be featured in the Hometown Heroes series, go to star-telegram.com/nominate.
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
