Our Mission
We are a network of friends working to feed the ill, needy, seniors, and minor children in our communities. There are over 125,000 individuals in need of food in our 14-county service area. Our goal is to distribute 100 pounds per person per year, which is nearly 77 meals per month, annually. This is 10 to 15 million lbs. distributed annually. There are several ways in which the Food Bank works to meet this need. Primarily we partner with approximately 210 non profit agencies to distribute this much needed food. Through these soup kitchens, food pantries, senior centers, churches, and other hunger relief organizations, individuals and families have access to food that might otherwise be wasted.
Our Programs:
Our Outreach
Mobile Pantries
An alternative to a traditional food pantry, truckloads of both perishable and nonperishable food delivered to those in need of emergency food assistance via a Food Bank truck. The Mobile Pantry Program eliminates the need for storage space and serves hundreds of families at once. (234 mobile pantries '09-'10). In the picture above The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia teamed with local organizations and volunteers to set up the Barrow County Mobile Pantry, an event that fed some of the nearly 6,000 Barrow County residents who live in poverty. Volunteers handed out 9,650 pounds of food, including hams, pears, pinto beans and peanut butter, in the parking lot across from Hill's Ace Hardware.
Food 2 Kids
Now operating in four counties in Northeast Georgia, this program provides child friendly weekend meals to those students that have been identified by school officals as chronically hungry.
Barrow 78 participants
Clarke 220 participants
Habersham 12 participants
Oconee 37 participants
Rabun 150 participants
Brown Bag Program
The Brown Bag program supplements bags of food delivered by a volunteer to the homes of seniors and disabled individuals in Athens-Clarke County once a month. (285 participants)
Stock the Pantry
Stock the Pantry program is a partnership with Habitat for Humanity in which new home owners are given access to the Food Bank and are encouraged to stock the shelves of the pantry of their new home.
For every dollar we receive we are able to rescue $14 worth of food which might otherwise been wasted. Or in other words, we are able to distribute 4 meals to those in need in Northeast Georgia. On behalf of the over 90,000 Northeast Georgians who need help, but are unable to give personal thanks, thank you so much for participating in this outreach.
Feeding A Family
The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia luanched the F2K Program in January 2008. Through this program kid-friendly meals are provided to chronically hungry children in participating counties, As the program grew we found that some of the children's families were also classified as food inseure. In April 2010 The Fedding A Family Program was introduced to the families of F2K participtents. With the help from out partener agencies we are able to assist the entire family! This program will help each child and parent become more productive at work and school, as well as improve unity with the family.
Annual Program Update
During the 2009-10 fiscal year, we distributed 8.4 million pounds of food and products into northeast Georgia. This is 1.7 million pounds over last year and is equivalent to 6.5 million meals. With the uncertainty of our country's economic health, one thing we at the Food Bank know is that the worse the news seems, the harder this community worked to help out. Because of the generous efforts of hunger advocates, even though there are record numbers of people in need, there continues to be enough.
During this past year, we determined that we can end hunger. Along with the Board of Directors, we realize we do not have the facilities to process the amount of food needed to provide 100 lbs. per person in need, annually. We have evaluated the total number of people in need, which includes official poverty numbers, people living on unemployment benefits, and an estimate of the number of people who are not employed and do not receive unemployment compensation. This gives us a range of 10-15 million lbs. of annual food.
In order to fulfill this need, we have created a two-fold approach. The first is to establish a permanent branch in the mountain counties to improve food access to those in the mountain region, as well as save on shipping and fueling costs. We have established a temporary branch in Tiger, Georgia, just south of Clayton, in Rabun County. It is currently open five days a week, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Secondly, we need 1,500 pallet slots installed in our Athens facility. We have plans to connect our existing warehouses to add 11,000 square feet of processing, shipping, receiving, and storage room. We have doubled the size of our cooler and added 25% more storage to the Richard Boone warehouse.
Our intent is not to store up food, but to have the facilities we need to efficiently and effectively move that food while increasing the access and food variety to those in need. We need your help. The end goal is in sight, and we can end hunger! Your love and care can make this possible!
For further details on the success of The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, please view our annual report "Food for Thought" 2010.
President, Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, Inc.
