District 204 Lions Clubs team up for community food distribution in Garapan

Lions Club organizations under District 204 joined forces last May 17 to provide meals and assistance to residents still recovering from Super Typhoon Sinlaku during a walk-in community food distribution at JTM Snack Bar & BBQ Grill in Garapan.

The outreach brought together Lions members from Guam and the CNMI, with volunteers serving meals to community members throughout the afternoon and evening.

Saipan Centennial Lions Club president Rens Belo said the activity was aimed at helping families still facing difficulties in the aftermath of the typhoon.

“The food distribution today is a collaboration from the three clubs in Region 2, District 204. The three clubs from Region 2 are Saipan Centennial, Madflex, and Saipan Pacific,” he said.

Belo said the outreach was also intended to remind residents that community organizations continue to stand with them during the recovery period.

As for why they chose the walk-in instead of a drive-through format for the distribution, he said for the Lions Club face-to-face interaction was important.

“We choose to have a lineup in person, not lineup through drive-thru because we want to make sure that there is a personal touch when we're distributing the food to each individual,” he said.

Meanwhile, District 204 Region 1 chair John Cruz said they did the food distribution they saw a lot of people were suffering following the onslaught of Sinlaku.

“This is because we know there are a lot of people who need food and all that. So again, with the collaboration with the other clubs in Guam and Saipan, we put a lot of funds together, especially from Guam. We had to put a lot of funds together to actually get the amount of packs of food ready to deliver to anybody who wants to come out here and get their meals to eat.”

He added that construction companies in Guam also helped with raising funds for the food donation drive on Saipan.

Lions Club members and district officers from Guam and the CNMI helped distribute food and assist residents during the outreach effort.