Three Bay County Points of Distribution, or PODs, will be closed as of Friday, Oct. 26, with the remaining two sites closing Saturday, Oct. 27 and Monday, Oct. 29. POD sites will no longer be distributing bulk food, water and ice, but they will continue to serve hot meals from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily for a week before closing completely.
The PODs have continued to see diminishing use within the community, and they are being closed to support local economic recovery as businesses surrounding the POD sites reopen.
The POD closure schedule is as follows:
- Closed as of Friday, Oct. 26 (serving hot meals only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 2):
- Panama City Seventh-Day Adventist Church and School - 2700 Lisenby Ave.
- 1011 CR 386, Mexico Beach
- Deer Point Elementary School 4800 CR 2321, Southport
- Closing Saturday, Oct. 27:
- Rosenwald Middle School – 924 Bay Ave., Panama City
- Monday, Oct. 29 (serving hot meals only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Monday, Nov. 5).
- High Praise Church – 7124 SR 22, Callaway
Immediately following a disaster, Points of Distribution, or PODs, are set up by the county to provide food, water and ice to individuals. While there was a high demand for POD sites in Bay County initially following Hurricane Michael, POD use has dropped by 94 percent compared to the peak POD use on Oct. 15. As economic recovery must happen hand in hand with individual recovery, continuing POD operations hampers the return to normal for local businesses and diverts economic activity away from the community.
Immediately following a disaster, Points of Distribution, or PODs, are set up by the county to provide food, water and ice to individuals. While there was a high demand for POD sites in Bay County initially following Hurricane Michael, POD use has dropped by 94 percent compared to the peak POD use on Oct. 15. As economic recovery must happen hand in hand with individual recovery, continuing POD operations hampers the return to normal for local businesses and diverts economic activity away from the community.
For the latest information about Hurricane Michael recovery efforts in Bay County, visit recoverbaycounty.com or like Bay County, Florida Emergency Services on Facebook.