Hundreds of neighbors waited patiently in the car line outside of our Augusta warehouse. Our Food Bank had just received a large shipment of fresh produce, and teams of JROTC students joined alongside our staff to pack trunks full of groceries.

For Gayla, the distribution was a huge help. Like many of our neighbors, she has been experiencing lower SNAP benefits and inflated food prices at the grocery store.

“It’s going to help me, and I also share with my mother, and my niece, and my nephews, so it’s a family affair,” she said.

With the high cost of groceries and a loss of emergency food benefits from the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity has hit our community hard. Thousands of families, seniors, and children in our area have been facing hunger for the first time.

“A lot of us are working people, and we still need the help,” said Gayla.

Our neighbors picked up 58,478 pounds of tomatoes, squash, mushrooms, eggs, and pecans from the distribution — enough for tens of thousands of fresh, healthy meals.
Gayla was excited about the possibilities with her fresh produce: BLT sandwiches, squash casserole, and homemade spaghetti.

“Tomatoes are my thing. I love to make my own spaghetti sauce,” she said.

1 in 9 people in the 25 counties we serve in Georgia and South Carolina are experiencing food insecurity. At Golden Harvest Food Bank, we believe that everyone in our community should have enough nutritious food to live a happy, healthy life.

Thanks to your support, we get to help children, seniors, families, and neighbors like Gayla access the meals they need to thrive.