ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. – At L.O.T. 2540 in Mayodan, volunteers have their hands full, prepping boxes of vegetables, cereal, and other foods for those in need.

The non-profit runs a mobile food pantry from the back of a truck.

“We set it up like a farmer’s market,” said L.O.T. 2540 director Marty Roberts.

The truck travels to different neighborhoods in Madison and Mayodan once a week with enough food for 20 to 25 households per trip.

“Transportation is hard for folks in the county,” Roberts said. “They might not have grocery stores within 10 to 15 miles.”

In a few months, Roberts hopes they’ll be able to serve even more people with a 36-foot long mobile market.

“It’s going to be a recycled beverage truck,” he said.

L.O.T. 2540 just got a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust for $198,304 to expand its mobile pantry into a mobile market.

The market will have refrigerators, air conditioning, walk in space and a kitchen.

Other non-profits and agencies that help people in need will also use the truck.

“We’ll do food demos, cooking demonstrations there on sight,” Roberts said.

Roberts says food pantries across the county have been strapped.

He hopes the mobile market will ease some of the strain.

“There is a lot of need in Rockingham County,” Roberts said. “We’ve had so many job losses.”

Raye Ann Pack gets food from the mobile pantry once a month.

She has diabetes and osteoarthritis and can’t get to the store easily.

“Some days I can’t walk well at all,” Pack said.

She says the mobile pantry has been a big help.

“If it weren’t for them, I might go hungry a couple of days,” she said. “They are so helpful in our community.”

The mobile market is expected to be complete by late September.