Dear Friends, John receives a turkey for his family's holiday meal at a Mobile Market distribution.  During our first Golden Harvest Staff meeting in January of 2022, I shared the following scripture verse and these words:  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” - Matthew 7:24 I shared that our [...]

Volunteers load fresh produce into the car of a family in need at a Mobile Market food distribution Two little boys poked their heads out of a car window and smiled at me. I was standing in the Augusta campus food bank parking lot, and cars in line for food snaked along for as far as I could see. Yet they were smiling. I approached them and smiled back. I pushed back tears as two volunteers loaded boxes and bags of fresh food into their trunk. As their faded white car slowly drove away, one small toddler [...]

GHFB President and CEO Amy Breitmann is joined by board members, CFS Architects staff, and builder, Todd Brown during our July 29th groundbreaking ceremony. If you’ve been by the Golden Harvest Food Bank Augusta warehouse, you may have noticed a few different things: a new sign and a construction crew.  With the launch of our new branding a few months ago, we are currently in the process of giving our old buildings and facilities a face-lift to fully meet the needs of those we serve in our 25-county area.  Last year, we identified an 8.8 million meal [...]

Golden Harvest Food Bank Founder and first Executive Director Mike Firmin stands with his family in front of the Food Bank's original location When I reflect on the thousands who have shaped Golden Harvest into what is today, I am humbled and grateful. What started 40 years ago as a small operation distributing 167,000 meals now provides more than 14 million meals a year in 24 counties through warehouses in Aiken, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia. From the supporters whose gifts helped build the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen to the corporate groups that pack meal kits for [...]

It’s almost lunchtime. Volunteers are carefully arranging trays of food, centerpieces, and water pitchers on the front tables — the special seating area for families with children and people with disabilities. Carrying her baby and keeping an eye on her son and daughter, Lekeisha finds a spot at a round table in the middle of the dining room. The meal today comes with a side of applesauce, the kids’ favorite. Lekeisha remembers visiting The Master’s Table with her family when she was a little girl. The meal center has provided hot meals to the downtown Augusta community since the [...]

Captain Teri Booth unveils our new It’s Spooky to Be Hungry® drive logo. Teri has been a part of the food and funds drive for more than 20 years. Last year, her neighborhood’s virtual drive raised funds for more than 6,800 meals. In 1992, It’s Spooky to Be Hungry® founder Evelyn Brown gathered a group of volunteers, both young and old, to work together to combat hunger. 30 years later, the mission remains the same.  What began then as a handful of neighbors collecting food donations has now evolved into the largest grassroots service project in CSRA [...]

Volunteers at FoodShare Bamberg pack fresh fruits and vegetables into produce boxes. On Thursday mornings at FoodShare Bamberg, volunteers take their stations in the assembly line — sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, onions, eggplants, broccoli, tomatoes, bananas. Hundreds of cardboard boxes, packed to the brim with fresh produce, are prepared for distribution. Access to fresh, nutritious food is a constant challenge for our rural neighbors, many of whom live in food deserts where grocery stores are scarce. But thanks to our 10-month partnership with FoodShare Bamberg this year, we have provided thousands of boxes of fresh produce for [...]

Phyllis Smart, founder of the SmartBox Food Pantry, stops for a photo during a Mobile Market Food Distribution in Allendale, South Carolina. The pantry is one of Golden Harvest’s over 300 partner agencies and programs. Hundreds of cars lined up on a quiet street in Allendale, South Carolina. It was morning, hours before the Mobile Market Food Distribution would begin. But for these families, the fresh produce, canned goods and other grocery items were well worth the wait. “People start lining up at 10 o’clock,” said Phyllis Smart, founder of the SmartBox Food Pantry. “But the feeding [...]

Volunteers from private aviation company Wheels Up pass a carton of milk to be placed into a vehicle’s trunk. Wheels Up employees put food on the table for 200 families in Aiken, SC. For a second year, private aviation company Wheels Up joined Golden Harvest Food Bank to donate 100,000 meals and volunteer as part of their Meals Up initiative with Feeding America. “It’s an honor to be part of the Wheels Up and Golden Harvest collaboration,” said Gary Spitalnik, co-founder of Wheels Up. “It’s so satisfying for Wheels Up and myself personally to partner with Golden [...]

Golden Harvest President and CEO Amy Breitmann speaks at the press conference for the Food Bank’s new brand. In the last few months, you may have noticed some changes at Golden Harvest. The Food Bank has a new brand created in partnership with local marketing firm Wier/Stewart, incuding a new tagline: “Every Meal Matters.” President and CEO Amy Breitmann sat down with us to share the details on the new look. Q: What is the motivation behind creating a new brand for the Food Bank? A: We live in a digital world, and our previous logo was [...]