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 word of the year was BUILD. We would be building capacity, buildings, processes, and relationships. We would be building on our history as we celebrated our 40th anniversary; looking back on the rich heritage of the food bank that has brought us to today, and looking forward to what we will build together in the future.
And we would not be building alone. We would be collaborating with you, our faithful community of volunteers, supporters, and partners, to increase impact and bring hope to our neighbors who were struggling to make ends meet.
Volunteers pack boxes of food at our temporary Faith Food Factory location.
As I look back at 2022, I am so proud of what we as a community have built together this past year.
We began to build capacity as part of our Strategic Plan: Phase 1 of construction on our new Volunteer and Administration Center is well underway, and the facility is anticipated to open in spring of 2023.
We also built our annual It’s Spooky To Be Hungry® campaign as we marked its historic 30th anniversary. We celebrated more neighborhoods participating, stronger business sponsorships, and an incredible one million meals raised for those in need throughout our 25-county service area.
Building our partnerships was also a key part of our work in 2022. The food bank brought on dozens of new partners throughout our 11,000 square mile service area, now collaborating with more than 350 partners and programs to assure food resources are available to the families, seniors and children who face food insecurity.
Together we distributed more than 11 million meals while also increasing the amount of fresh produce we offered our agencies and neighbors.
We also welcomed thousands of volunteers alongside us to serve at the soup kitchen, in our warehouses, and at our distribution sites to provide direct support.
Volunteers serve a hot meal to guests at The Master’s Table in the now re-opened dining room.
At The Master’s Table, we are now serving an average of 1,000 more meals per month than a year ago, building on our success as we reopened our dining room to guests. It has been inspiring to see our guests enjoy again the fellowship that The Master’s Table is so known for as they commune over a hot, homemade meal. Behind The Master’s Table, our Urban Farm is providing thousands of pounds of fresh produce to our kitchen, creating a true farm-to-table experience for our guests and increasing the nutritional benefits of our meals.
In 2022, we also built up our mission by launching a rebrand and a new logo which both honors our rich history and features an updated design that beautifully tells the story of all those who make up our mission.
As I look back on last year’s accomplishments, I am truly humbled by everything we were able to achieve together. Despite facing many unforeseen obstacles, our team and this community rallied time after time to assure that our neighbors were seen, loved, and fed nutritious food.
It brings me great joy to know that we provided over 11 million meals to our neighbors in need last year, and that you were with us every step of the way.
Matt, a regular volunteer at our Urban Farm, Harvests herbs for meals at The Master’s Table.
As we look to 2023, demand at our food bank is currently up 39%, and inflation and supply chain issues are making it harder to meet that need. Never in our food bank’s history have we seen price increases at this level. We are buying more food at a time when food costs have skyrocketed. More people are turning to us, some for the first time, because they cannot afford to feed their families.
Many challenges lie ahead this year. But as we enter 2023, I could not be more appreciative of you standing alongside us to make sure that our neighbors receive the nourishment they need. Thank you for being part of our mission to feed people, build solutions to end hunger, and empower our community.
On behalf of our team and most importantly the neighbors we serve, thank you.
Happy New Year, and many blessings in the year ahead.
