The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia opened a new 63,000-square-foot facility at 890 Newton Bridge Road, on Thursday, July 18. The ribbon cutting took place at 4 p.m. with several keynote speakers, including Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz, Deputy Commissioner Rusty Haygood from the Department of Community Affairs, Danah Craft from Feeding Georgia, Kevin Price from Kevin Price Construction and Board Chair of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia Billy Porter.
The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, which has been in existence for over 30 years, works with more than 200 member organizations to annually distribute more than 11 million pounds of food across the 15-county region, totaling about 9.3 million meals for people in Northeast Georgia. According to the FBNEGA, the need for food assistance has never been higher as one in seven people and one in six children in Northeast Georgia are at risk of food insecurity. The new food bank expanded the capacity by 65% to connect more people with food.
The event began with words of gratitude from CEO Erin Barger.
“This moment is surreal. It is proof that there is a being in the universe that blesses us beyond our imagination,” Barger said. “This last fiscal year the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia has mobilized more pounds of food than any year in history because of these 32 people that I am honored to call my colleagues.”
This new facility was a $15 million project, helped by a $8.9 million grant from the Department of Community Affairs. Feeding Georgia was also involved, helping facilitate $65 million into food banks all across the state.
“I find it consistently true that no good thing happens by just one individual alone,” Girtz said. “We have at least four public sector institutions who joined together to make this happen, maybe hundreds of volunteers and partner entities across all of northeast Georgia.”
The ribbon cutting was a community-oriented project that came to fruition through a team effort. The director of development for the food bank, Kelly Klein, said there are many ways the community can continue to help.
“We would love for people to volunteer, go to our website to sign up and donate funds,” Klein said. “Every dollar donated helps us provide three balanced meals to the community. And people can also donate food, whether they grow food at home, no matter how big or how small any donation is appreciated.”