Your Help ensures that Feeding the Valley remains strong during these challenging times.
Feeding the Valley has Expanded in Columbus, To Meet the Growing Need for Food.
It is not a surprise that 85% of U.S. food banks have seen an increase in demand for assistance and the same is true for Feeding the Valley.
COVID and the pandemic have exposed even more disparities than any of us realized. A 24% increase in food prices and skyrocketing household expenses since 2021 are causing hard working people to make difficult decisions between paying their rent, keeping their lights on, or buying food. In order to make ends meet, families are relying on our services for food assistance. One of our partner agencies, St. Anne Community Outreach, has said that 50% of the families coming to their food pantry are requesting help for the first time. Many of our Partner Agencies which include churches and non-profit organizations are experiencing the same.
This is apparent in our higher distribution numbers and the different demographics we are seeing. We experienced a 53% increase in demand for our services at the height of the pandemic and that has leveled off to a 35% increase at the current time. In the past 12 months, we distributed more than 15 million pounds of food, which will provide more than 12 million meals to the families we serve.
The expanded Feeding the Valley facility in Columbus includes an air-conditioned Volunteer Center, where you can be a part of ending hunger!
Facts about the Columbus Expansion:
Our original Columbus headquarters was built in 2017 with plans for future expansion. In 2024, we expanded our facility to add:
- 24,000 sq. ft., (a 75% increase), on additional 2.75 acres purchased in 2020.
- A 100% increase in dry storage warehouse space. This equates to 1,000 additional pallet spaces where we can store an additional 2 million pounds of food. This positions us to meet our 5-year goal of growing from 15 million pounds of annual distribution to 23 million pounds.
- A 50% increase in cold storage, allowing us to distribute over 500,000 additional pounds of lean meats and fresh produce annually.
- A new air-conditioned, state-of-the-art Hunger Action Center volunteer space that is 50% larger in size, allowing more community volunteers to be directly involved in food distribution.
Serving More Families in Rural Georgia
This expansion project gives us a total of 55,000 square feet of capacity in Columbus and will allow us to provide more food assistance in our service area, including our rural counties, where families face hunger at a higher rate. Currently, six of the counties we are serving (Stewart, Randolph, Dougherty, Terrell, Calhoun, and Clay) are in the top ten counties with the highest food insecurity rates in the state. We are confident that this expansion project will enable us to provide more food in these counties, and with the new, enhanced automated equipment for our kitchen, we will also be able to provide prepared frozen meals to our rural neighbors.
Grant Opportunities
In 2021, Governor Kemp reallocated unused funds from the American Rescue Plan and the CARES Act to support capital projects for Georgia food banks. These funds are the seed money for the expansion project, which will double our capacity at this site.
This grant paid for 75% of the Columbus expansion project. With lead gifts from the J. Bulow Campbell Foundation, the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, the Mildred Miller Fort Foundation, the Bradley-Turner Foundation, Aflac, and the generosity of many like you in our community, the total $5.7 million project cost was raised.
We Still Need Your Help
In the last four years, we have experienced some of the darkest periods of time and some of the brightest. This period of time has shown the nation that hunger is a real issue in our country and food banks play a critical role in addressing food insecurity. This is our mission, and no matter what it takes, there is no doubt that the Feeding the Valley team has shown a shared passion to provide nutritious food for families in all the communities we serve. There was no gamebook to follow during the pandemic and we saw that, when we collaborate with our partners, we have a strong unity of purpose: to serve the underserved and make our community a better place to live.
As you plan your future giving, would you consider a single or multi-year pledge to invest in Feeding the Valley once again as you did in years past? Your contribution will make a significant impact on the lives of many families, providing food to your neighbors in need. Thank you!