COVINGTON, GA. — When former Republican sheriff candidate Clay Ivey conceded to Ken Malcom after the Primary Election in June, it didn’t mean he would stop serving the community.

Thursday, July 23, he and “volunteers from all over” came together at Prospect United Methodist Church in Covington and gave out more than 1,500 boxes of food to members of the community.

“I’ve lived here in Newton County all my life,” Ivey said. “I got into public safety at 21, started out as a firefighter/EMT, then got into police … People have always been my concern. I just love people. With our country so divided right now and COVID-19 putting people in hospitals and others out of a job, I just wanted to do something to bring people together and show people that we care about them.”

The giveaway was made possible by Muddessar Ahmad, a businessman in Conyers, Ivey said. Ahmad made the arrangements to deliver the tractor trailer load of food to the church and paid for the food as well.

Each box of food had approximately 7-8 pounds of fruits and vegetables — a “quarter of a bushel,” Ivey said.

Ivey said he’d like to host another giveaway in the near future, if able.

“We had a great turnout,” he said. “It was hot, but it was well worth it. Hopefully we were able to help a whole lot of people.”