Two days after an elderly man dialed 911 for food because he was hungry and couldn't move, his kitchen cabinets are overflowing with donations. 
 
 A 911 operator came to Clarence Blackmon's rescue this week after he called for help. The 81-year-old, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, had just returned home to an empty refrigerator after spending several months in the hospital, and he said he had no one else to turn to. The operator arrived with a box of groceries, and she made him a few ham sandwiches. 
 
 Several news outlets, including ABC News, wrote about the good deed, and food donations are pouring in, Blackmon said. 
 
 "They keep bringing it in by the armloads," he told ABC News. "My cupboards are full. I've never had such prosperity." 
 
 He has so much food, that he's called a food bank to share it with others. 
 
 "Simply, these are wonderful gifts," he said. "If I tried to consume all that's in my kitchen right now, what's in my cupboards, it would take me over a year!" 
 
 911 operator Marilyn Hinson told ABC affiliate WTVD that she wanted to help Blackmon because she understood his predicament. 
 
 "He was hungry," Hinson said. "I've been hungry. A lot of people can't say that, but I can, and I can't stand for anyone to be hungry." 

 Clarence Blackmon, an 81-year-old North Carolina Army veteran, called 911 not because he was hurt, but because he needed food. Blackmon, who is battling cancer, had no family living nearby and no way to get to the grocery store. (Fayetteville Police Department) 
 
 An 81-year-old North Carolina Army veteran touched an emergency operator earlier this week when he dialed 911 — not because he was hurt, but because he was hungry. 
 
 Clarence Blackmon had just returned to his apartment in Fayetteville, N.C., after spending months in a hospital and rehabilitation facility where he has been battling cancer. When he got home, his refrigerator was empty. He had no family living nearby and no way to get to the grocery store. “I can barely walk without holding onto a chair,” he told the 911 dispatcher. 
 
 So he made an unorthodox yet desperate plea. 
 
 “What I need is someone to get to the grocery store and bring me some food because I need to eat something,” he said on the 911 tape. “Whatever you can do to help. I can’t do anything. I can’t go anywhere. I can’t get out of my damn chair.” 
 
 [America’s oldest vet is turning 109. He celebrated with cigars and burgers.] 
 
 Within moments, the dispatcher, Marilyn Hinson, was jotting down his grocery list: a head of cabbage, two bananas, a can of beets and a can of green beans, tomato juice, three Pepsis, some processed ham and, his “absolute favorite,” popcorn. He told her he had the money to pay her back. 
 
 Hinson, along with Fayetteville police officers, delivered the items to his door. She said she stuck around to make him a few ham sandwiches. 
 
 “He was hungry,” she told WTVD-TV. “I’ve been hungry. A lot of people can’t say that, but I can, and I can’t stand for anyone to be hungry.” 
 
 [This 94-year-old is graduating from college, more than 70 years after he started] 
 
 Blackmon told the Huffington Post he has prostate cancer. “It’s unreal how devastating one thing can be,” he said. “Sometimes I just fall down and pray.” He said his doctor gave him “maybe another six months. But he doesn’t know and I don’t know. Only God knows and I thank God I’m still here.” 
 
 Blackmon is getting a home health nurse soon, he told WTVD-TV, but, he’s thankful someone was there to help him this week. 
 
 “It was like a little miracle ringing in my ear,” he told the news station. “I thought, ‘Jesus, you’ve answered all those prayers.'” 
 
 [This story has been updated.] 

 Clarence Blackmon called 911 for help Tuesday not because he was in need of police assistance or medical treatment, but because hunger had driven him to do so. 
 
 "What I need is someone to get to the grocery store and bring me some food, because I need to eat something," Blackmon told Fayetteville, North Carolina, 911 operator Marilyn Hinson. "Whatever you can do to help. I can't do anything. I can't go anywhere. I can't get out of my damn chair." 
 
 Blackmon, 81, has prostate cancer and can barely stand or walk. 
 
 "It's unreal how devastating one thing can be," Blackmon told The Huffington Post on Wednesday. "Sometimes I just fall down and pray." 
 
 Blackmon said he made the call after returning home from a lengthy hospital stay. 
 
 "I thought maybe 911 could help me," he said. "I was very hungry and had an empty refrigerator. The grocery store wouldn't deliver without a deposit and I couldn't make it there." 
 
 Hinson's supervisor, Lisa Reid, said she was in the office when Blackmon called. 
 
 "He said he had money to pay and he gave Marilyn a grocery list," Reid told HuffPost. "I looked at the list and it was small, but very specific. He wanted a head of cabbage, tomato juice, popcorn, cans of beans and beets, an avocado and some Pepsi. He said, 'I don't want no diet, I want Pepsi in the bottle.'" 
 
 Reid said they entered Blackmon's name into their computer system and discovered he had an illness and no relatives living in the area. 
 
 LISTEN TO THE 911 CALL: (Story Continues Below) 
 
 
 
 According to Blackmon, his wife, Wanda, died from cancer in 2011. 
 
 "I got married in 1954, the same year the Army drafted me," Blackmon said. "In 1956, the sergeant made me a corporal. He told me he'd make me a sergeant if I stayed one more year. I said, 'Sergeant, I really appreciate that, but I had to leave my girl behind right after we got married. I can't stay in. It wouldn’t be right.'" 
 
 Blackmon went on to work as an administrator for a petroleum company. He worked there 40 years before he retired. 
 
 "She was a dynamite person," Blackmon said of his wife. "When she passed away, my situation went downhill. We had so many bills and we had barely been making the mortgage with both our pensions. I just couldn’t manage it myself." 
 
 Blackmon said he lost the couple's home of 35 years to foreclosure on July 24, 2014. 
 
 "I thank the lord I had Wanda for as long as I did, but I miss her and our house," he said. "Life is unpredictable and unfortunately it doesn't get easier as we get older." 
 
 MARILYN HINSON AND POLICE OFFICERS DELIVERING THE FOOD: (Story Continues Below) 
 
 
 
 Reid said 911 operators typically do not offer direct assistance to callers, but in Blackmon's case she was certain Hinson would do so on her own if she didn't approve it. 
 
 "She has a heart of gold," Reid said of Hinson. "She's always helping people and we didn’t want her to go by herself. We didn't know what she would be walking into -- if it was a hoax or something -- so we had police officers escort her." 
 
 Antoine Kincade, the public information officer for the Fayetteville Police Department, was one of the officers who went to Blackmon's home on Tuesday. 
 
 "We made contact with the elderly male and he was barely 115 pounds," Kincade told HuffPost. "He was in genuine need and it was the right thing to do." 
 
 Blackmon said he was overjoyed by the generosity of everyone involved, especially Hinson, who went right to work in his kitchen. 
 
 "I was in high water and she come to my rescue, making me a couple ham sandwiches and getting me a glass of Pepsi," he said. "Thank God for good people who can help people in need." 
 
 Hinson, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, told ABC11.com that she was more than happy to help Blackmon. 
 
 "He was hungry," Hinson said. "I've been hungry. A lot of people can't say that, but I can, and I can't stand for anyone to be hungry." 
 
 Blackmon, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, said his doctor recently told him he doesn't have much time left. 
 
 "He says maybe another six months," Blackmon said. "But he doesn't know and I don’t know. Only God knows and I thank God I'm still here." 
 
 As Blackmon faces that diagnosis, he said he hopes to access the Internet in the near future. 
 
 "I don’t have a computer yet but one of these days I will get one and visit The Huffington Post. But don’t nobody ask me for my opinion unless you're wanting to get one," Blackmon laughed. "Because I'll sure burn your ears -- good or bad. That’s just the way I am." 
 
 Reid said authorities are working with a local church to ensure Blackmon's future needs are met. Anyone interested in helping him can contact the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1529. 
 
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 CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the last name of Lisa Reid as Lee. The story has been updated to correct this error.
– Clarence Blackmon, an 81-year-old Army veteran, returned to his North Carolina apartment after battling prostate cancer to find his cupboards bare and his stomach rumbling. "The grocery store wouldn't deliver without a deposit and I couldn't make it there," he tells the Huffington Post. So he picked up the phone and called 911. "What I need is someone to get to the grocery store and bring me some food because I need to eat something," he said on the call Tuesday, per the Washington Post. "I can't do anything. I can't go anywhere. I can't get out of my damn chair." Rather than scoff, dispatcher Marilyn Hinson listened patiently as Blackmon listed his requests, including cabbage, avocado, two bananas, three bottles of Pepsi, ham, potato salad, green beans, tomato juice, and popcorn, and assured he would pay her back. "He was hungry," Hinson tells WTVD. "I've been hungry. A lot of people can't say that, but I can, and I can't stand for anyone to be hungry." The dispatcher personally picked up and delivered the food to Blackmon, who "was barely 115 pounds," according to an accompanying officer. Hinson even made him some ham sandwiches. "It was like a little miracle ringing in my ear," he says. But that was only the first delivery. As news of his predicament spread, donations flooded in. "They keep bringing it in by the armloads," he tells ABC News. "My cupboards are full. I've never had such prosperity." In fact, there's so much food, he's sharing his haul with a food bank. A home nurse will now check on the veteran twice a week to ensure he has all he needs. A doctor told Blackmon he has just six months to live, "but he doesn't know and I don't know," the veteran says. "Only God knows and I thank God I'm still here."