Lisa, Avant and their dog Ajax wait in line to receive food help. Avant is a retired veteran and Lisa has neurosarcoidosis and is unable to work. They received a box of shelf-stable food plus fresh produce and frozen meat at a Golden Harvest Food Bank ‘Mega’ Mobile Market. Fortina worked as a first-grade teacher before serving in the healthcare system as a nurse for 20 years. She never thought she’d find herself seeking food assistance. But now that she’s a senior citizen on a fixed income, it’s hard to make ends meet. “I’m not out of [...]

The It’s Spooky to Be Hungry® campaign broke all records this year, collecting more than 35,000 pounds of food and raising enough funds for almost 692,000 meals -- all thanks to our community. October 2020 marked the 28th year for Golden Harvest’s annual It’s Spooky To Be Hungry® campaign, and it turned out to be a year like no other. It’s Spooky To Be Hungry® is one of the oldest grassroots food and funds drives in the country, but like so many things in 2020, it had to be re-imagined to help keep our community safe. That [...]

Darius and Darren receive BackPack meal packs full of child-friendly food through Golden Harvest community partner Weekend Blessings of Emanuel County. At first there’s no answer at Phoebe’s house along a stretch of road just outside Swainsboro, Ga. But then she sees who -- and what -- is waiting and quickly comes to the door. It’s her three children’s weekend BackPacks for the next two weeks, delivered by Golden Harvest community partner Weekend Blessings of Emanuel County. “You have no idea how much this helps. It helps exponentially, it truly does,” she says, gathering up the bags [...]

A Soldier from the South Carolina National Guard distributes fresh produce from Golden Harvest’s new refrigerated van at The Smart Box Food Pantry in Fairfax, SC. The car line at Friday food distributions at The Smart Box in Fairfax, S.C., is always long. Hungry families know they’ll receive boxes of nonperishable items, produce and frozen meat. But at a June distribution, they got a surprise -- boxes of fresh dairy, meat and produce transported by our new refrigerated van that was purchased through a grant funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Even now, when calls for food [...]

A volunteer from 143 Ministries delivers food to homebound neighbors in need. The organization has delivered over 200,000 meals since the start of the pandemic. Delivering groceries to homebound and hungry families isn’t what members of 143 Ministries International usually feel called to do. But during the COVID-19 health crisis, it’s become their way of giving back to the community in an uncertain time. As at-risk or ill community members self-isolate, the need for home-delivered meals has quickly risen -- especially as more and more families in our area seek food assistance. “We saw the need and [...]

Isaac receives prepackaged meals made with fresh ingredients for himself and his three grandchildren. Isaac comes downstairs from his apartment in Richmond Summit off Broad Street for two reasons: Three of his grandkids are about to pull up, and he wants to get them something to eat. Outside the apartment complex are volunteers distributing individual prepackaged meals from World Central Kitchen, a global hunger relief organization founded by Chef José Andrés. Isaac collects his meals and then passes them through the window of a car to three smiling faces. “My grandkids are here a lot, and that’s [...]

A counselor helps a student in need select food at the A. Brian Merry Elementary School Market. The food pantry is part of Golden Harvest’s new focus in schools. Students can choose from shelves of nutritious food items and bring home food for the whole family. In an empty room lined with cupboards at the end of a hallway in A. Brian Merry Elementary, school counselor Stephanie Mack gets to work. She opens hanging cupboards lined with macaroni and cheese, canned chicken and sliced peaches. She arranges cans of chicken noodles soup, jars of peanut butter and [...]