Golden Harvest Food Bank again joins fellow Feeding America food banks nationwide in emphasizing the importance of local hunger relief efforts this September for Hunger Action Month. This year’s outreach campaign comes at a critical time when the COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of people living paycheck to paycheck. Since March, food insecurity has risen 41% in Golden Harvest’s 25-county service area in Georgia and South Carolina; 1 in 5 people are now experiencing food insecurity. 

Across the CSRA, calls to Golden Harvest for food assistance have tripled. Among families who reached out for assistance, 54% have never needed to utilize the Food Bank before the coronavirus pandemic and 88% say it will be more challenging to make ends meet over the next three months.  Feeding America estimates an additional 17 million people could be food insecure in 2020 as a result of this crisis, bringing the total up to 54 million people.  

“It’s so important right now for our community to understand how their support translates into assistance for hungry families,” Golden Harvest Executive Director Amy Breitmann says. “Every person who learns about lunch at The Master’s Table or how a Mobile Market works gains insight into what a food insecure family faces; and right now there are so many families experiencing hunger as part of their new normal.”

Golden Harvest has served more than 5.3 million meals and 127,000 families since COVID-19 began affecting the CSRA. The Food Bank has invested in new trucks dedicated to taking food distributions to rural and at-risk communities. To date, more than 90 drive-thru, no-contact Mobile Markets have been held.

“We need your help now more than ever,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “Hunger in this country existed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has thrust more and more of our neighbors into food insecurity, and food banks are responding to a sustained, increased demand. With support of the community, together we can end hunger one helping at a time.”

September marks the thirteenth year the Feeding America network has organized this annual call to action. To learn more about Golden Harvest’s COVID-19 response and hunger relief programs, visit goldenharvest.org