Today at The Master’s Table Soup Kitchen, lunch is simple: a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato, an apple and some potato chips. It’s nutritious and filling, simple but satisfying – but it has a twist our guests will love: a bag of chips with a very familiar logo on the front.
These bags of chips were originally destined to be eaten at this year’s Masters Tournament in April. Instead, thanks to the Augusta National Golf Club, they help round out a meal – perhaps the only one they’ll eat today – for our 300 daily guests.
The bagged chips could have easily been thrown away. Instead, they’re not only helping provide our community a special treat in lunches, but also a story that will be told about ‘that time we ate Masters chips without setting a foot on the course.’
“During this health crisis, we continue to serve about 300 meals at The Master’s Table every day with a limited staff. This donation rounded out a simple, healthy lunch with a treat — and made all of us smile,” said LaDonna Doleman, manager at the soup kitchen.
And this is just one meal.
In addition to more than 50,000 bags of chips, the Augusta National Golf Club has donated approximately 2,000 lbs. of produce, bread and dairy items to Golden Harvest Food Bank since the postponement of the Masters Tournament. The food is being used to create meals at The Master’s Table Soup Kitchen in downtown Augusta and is also being distributed to families in need across the Food Bank’s 25-county service territory.
“In a time when we’re all grieving things we have lost, it’s encouraging to see true redemption of resources come out of this situation.”
“The Masters Tournament is near and dear to us here in Augusta and around the world. In a time when we’re all grieving things we have lost, it’s encouraging to see true redemption of resources come out of this situation,” said Amy Breitmann, Executive Director of Golden Harvest Food Bank. “Using this food from the Masters to feed guests at our soup kitchen and families across our service area perfectly illustrates that we are all in this together. It’s neighbors helping neighbors by taking something that was lost and giving it new purpose.”
Augusta National Golf Club also contributed significantly to the CSRA COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, which is being managed by the Community Foundation for the CSRA and the United Way and distributed a grant of $50,000 to Golden Harvest Food Bank in April.
The funds from this grant will provide nearly 200,000 meals to area seniors, children, and families who are struggling due to the coronavirus crisis.
“The impact of Augusta National Golf Club’s generosity is two-fold: it is making food purchases possible and bringing smiles to the faces of families in need,” Breitmann said. “Right here in our community is an example for organizations across the country of how the creative use of resources can assist the overwhelming need that food banks across the Feeding America network face during the COVID-19 crisis.”
There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has cost us so much – individually and as a community.
But through others’ generosity, it’s also led us to moments like these, when leftovers from a postponed golf tournament can brighten the day of someone in need.
