Evangelist Jessie Lee Lesure, aka “Dr. Love”, and a team of volunteers from her Love Everybody Help Outreach Ministries donated nearly 300 bags of free food and supplies Friday to the victims of Hurricane Ivan.

Along with the food, visitors to the pick-up site at the parking of the former Highland Avenue Food World also received some spiritual help as well.

“We started at 8 a.m. with fellowship,” Lesure said. “The parking lot was full of people, some of them didn’t even come for the food, just to get spiritual guidance.”

John Perkins, Lesure’s brother and one of the volunteers, said he was glad to see a diverse mix of people who attended the morning fellowship service.

“There was about 400 people who came for the fellowship. We had about a half white, half black crowd,” Perkins said. “Mot of them were from Marion or Uniontown.”

After the fellowship service, the ministry gave out sacks filled with supplies such as bread, water, roman noodles, crackers and some canned goods.

“We worked to provide them with the physical bread as well as their mental bread,” Lesure said.

The food give-away, set to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., was so popular that most of the supplies were gone by 10 a.m.

The volunteers were forced to turn-away people who continued to arrive in the parking lot looking for supplies.

Lesure said collecting and donating items for the needy are one of the main focuses of Love Everybody Help Outreach Ministries.

The charitable organization works regularly with the elderly providing them with ministry, food, and clothing.

“We are always taking donations so we can gives others things they need,” Lesure said.

The ministry’s volunteers will also travel to people’s homes to pick-up and drop-off donations.