DATE: Saturday, May 3, 1997                 TAG: 9705030516

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KENNAN NEWBOLD, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   38 lines

PORTSMOUTH BUSINESS GIVES TO FLOOD VICTIMS

An Operation Blessing crew on Friday loaded about 20,000 pounds of fresh produce, paper products and cleaning supplies into one of two Hunger Strike Force trucks bound for flood-ravaged Grand Forks, N.D.

The supplies were donated by Doughtie's Foods, a full-line food distributor in Portsmouth whose customers include local hospitals, nursing homes and schools.

``We're a Christian company, and we run our business according to Christian principles,'' said Tom Brown, vice president of marketing for Doughtie's Foods. ``We're supposed to reach out and help people in need. We're blessed to have the opportunity to do it.''

Brown said gathering the supplies was easy.

``We have a tremendous resource of food here. My problem was, how do I get it out there and who do I ship it to?'' said Brown. ``I knew that CBN had Operation Blessing, so I called them and they just happened to have two trucks scheduled to go out there Monday.''

Another truck was sent Thursday to the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pick up a 33,000-pound load donated by the Dover community.

Both trucks will leave Operation Blessing's Chesapeake warehouse on Sunday afternoon and will arrive in Grand Forks on Wednesday.

Operation Blessing, a Virginia Beach-based non-profit humanitarian organization, provides disaster relief to the poor in the United States and overseas.

To contribute to Operation Blessing's continuing relief efforts in Grand Forks, call 579-3400. ILLUSTRATION: TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot

Doughtie's Foods donated 20,000 pounds of supplies that Operation

Blessing trucks will transport to the Grand Forks, N.D., flood

victims.

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