GULF SHORES, Ala. — Bill Martin is an energetic presence at The Christian Service Center's food pantry. It's clear that all the volunteers know exactly who is in charge.

That’s not surprising. The Naval Academy graduate is accustomed to giving orders. But why would such a person, someone who helped the Academy go from an all-male bastion to a coed institution want to spend hours making a food program work?

“I was raised by relatives,” said Martin. He explained that his mother died when he was young and his father was not able to care for a family of small children.

“I was passed to every relative who could raise me,” the Cullman, Ala. native said.

Eventually, Martin, who now lives in Gulf Shores, wound up in Roman Catholic and Methodist institutions before a great-aunt, with the consent of his grandmother, brought him and his siblings to live with her.

“A lot of people helped me in life,” he said. “Long before I needed them, somebody built two places. I’m mindful that if I don’t do that, there won't be anything.”

Martin became a surface warfare officer and commanded a group of Swift boats the during Vietnam War. He was the commander of the USS Blandy (DD-943) and eventually became a battalion officer at Annapolis.

He came to the Christian Service Center part-time about seven years ago.

“I was an occasional volunteer,” he said. His wife, Suzan, was involved, and she is now chairing the food pantry with him. They took over the facility about five years ago. Before that, Martin was involved with the Baldwin County chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

“I have plenty of former supply corps officers to draw on,” chuckled Martin. He uses their expertise to make sure he has enough of everything needed to feed hungry families in the CSC service area, which includes Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fort Morgan and some points north. He said that if a person or family needs help with food, they should contact the CSC, or if the family is out of their immediate support area, they can tell then what organization can help them.

The CSC also offers assistance with housing, utilities, medical expenses, durable medical equipment, and has a Meals on Wheels program.

The CSC food pantry also provides staples for other charities in Baldwin County.

“We have a small budget and I compare prices at the Bay Area Food Bank, Publix and Walmart,” he said. “I go where I can get the best price of the day.”

The center buys from BAFB, but the prices are “pennies on the dollar,” says Martin. The Mobile-based food bank will also deliver if a certain amount of food is purchased.

There is a standard list of items that goes into a package a family will receive. Packages are based on family size, and the center has things like diapers a needy family might require that can be placed in the package.

The CSC receives day-old bread and pastry from Publix in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and freezes it for later distribution. The center also receives donations from Longhorn Steak House, Woodson’s Barg-in Chevron, Pizza Hut and Daylight Donuts.

Volunteers process and store the donated and purchased food and make up the packages.

“The (donated) food would go to waste otherwise,” said Martin, adding that corporations get a tax break and those in need get food.

The churches who make up the CSC donate on a rotating basis and are told what items would be needed the most. Cash donations are also very welcome as they enable the food pantry to purchase things that may not be readily available.

Last year, the center served around 1,700 individuals. When begun in 1991, it served less than 200.

The oil spill, two recent hurricanes and the national recession have hit the area hard, Martin says.

“One person losing a job is pretty bad,” he said. “Two people in a family out of work is catastrophic. We’ve seen people who used to be donors become clients.”

Martin has one story why he keeps up with the work of the food pantry.

“I came through the front door and there was this little girl. It was a younger couple with a small child.”

Martin could tell the family had come in for aid and asked the mother if he could get the girl a treat.

“I told the mom that I had been in her position,” he said.

He went and got some cookies and candy.

“I had a granddaughter about that age,” he said, his eyes moistening. “I came back and that little girl’s eyes locked right on me. My hand was shaking. I realized by giving that cookie I was sharing the grace of God. I just said ‘Thank you, God’ to myself. That’s what keeps me going.”