Volunteers struggle to fight rising tide of hunger in CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The number of people who need food assistance in Augusta has doubled since last year.

That’s putting a major strain on places like the Golden Harvest Food Bank, already seeing a jump in numbers when school lets out for the summer.

Food insecurity isn’t a stranger to the Augusta community. In fact, it’s gotten worse since COVID.

Not only is the Salvation Army Center of Hope seeing an increase in clients and food costs; so is Golden Harvest.

To be exact, they say the need for food has grown by 100% since last year.

“It is really real that hunger is definitely an issue right here in our hometown,” said Ladonna Doleman, manager of Golden Harvest’s soup kitchen, the Master’s Table at 702 Fenwick St.

HOW TO HELP:

• To learn how you can volunteer with Golden Harvest, visit https://goldenharvest.org/get-involved/.

On a normal day, the dining room there usually sees a few hundred people.

“We will usually serve about 200 to 250. And that was the beginning of this year. January, February, we were doing the twos but then came into March, I seen a pickup we were getting close to the threes,” she said.

Now that school is out, open seats are rare at the soup kitchen.“Yesterday, they did 244,” Doleman said. “But the day before, we did 364. And then the day before that Tuesday, we did 394 trays. And that’s only in an hour.”

And plate numbers are higher than ever before

“I’m seeing more families now that it’s summertime, I’m seeing more little children,” said a volunteer Nancy Antonacci.

HOW TO GET HELP:

For the month of May, the soup kitchen offered a total of 7,469 trays.

“That has been the most trays that we have done at this building since I’ve been here,” Doleman said. “And I’ve been here going on five years now.”

She says families are now having to choose how they will survive each month.

“It has definitely affected the community in the point that they don’t have enough money to either pay bills or buy food,” she said. “Do I pay my light bill? Or do I buy groceries? And now they’re having to choose between priority and another priority.”

But it’s Golden Harvest’s mission not to let anyone go hungry, so organizers are calling on the community for help

Volunteers are needed. It takes about 25 volunteers to handle one meal.

Antonacci says at the end of the day it’s a blessing to serve.

“People take good care of their children, they’re doing the best they can, whatever circumstance they find themselves in,” Antonacci said. “And I feel really blessed to be able to help them in any way to give them a good meal.”

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