Golden Harvest Food Bank again joins fellow Feeding America food banks nationwide to raise awareness of hunger and inspire community members to take action this September for Hunger Action Month. On September 17th, national Hunger Action Day, The Food Bank unveiled its own plan of action to end hunger across the 25 counties it serves. Golden Harvest Food Bank’s leadership team and Board of Directors announced a new 10-year strategic plan – the result of nine months of research and planning.

Data from the USDA shows an 8.8 million meal gap annually across the Food Bank’s 25-county service territory, where 1 in 7 people and 1 in 5 children struggle with hunger. Golden Harvest’s strategic plan aims to bridge this meal gap by increasing food distribution until the need for food assistance is fully met across this 11,000-square-mile area, distributing 20.3 million meals annually by 2030.

Golden Harvest Food Bank has invested more than $4 million of its December 2020 gift from American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott into its new strategic plan.

“Phase one of increasing our capacity and impact will include renovating our Augusta warehouse location -- adding a volunteer experience area, conference rooms and office space,” said Amy Breitmann, Golden Harvest Food Bank’s executive director. “We have been intentional in creating a vision for this building that will give all who enter a chance to see scope of our work with views directly into our warehouse. This project will be partially funded through a portion of the gift we received from MacKenzie Scott, and we will invite the community to contribute as well.”

The Food Bank’s 10-year plan consists of six key initiatives: investing in its community partner agencies, strengthening Food Bank programs for vulnerable populations, partnering with healthcare providers, piloting new programs and services to increase food distribution, advocating for state and federal support, and educating the community on hunger in our area and how to help.

In FY 2020, Golden Harvest Food Bank distributed 12 million meals and provided more than 200 Mobile Market food distributions. The Food Bank also provides food assistance programs for children and seniors and operates The Master’s Table Soup Kitchen and Urban Farm in downtown Augusta, GA. Its new strategic plan includes the growth and expansion of these efforts as well as the addition of new initiatives and programs.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received over the past year, which will act as a springboard for our big vision,” Breitmann said. “Our strategic roadmap relies heavily on the continued support of our community through philanthropic and volunteer contributions. We will continue to call on our donors, volunteers, and supporters to join with us as we work towards our bold goal. Together, we can end hunger in our community.”