Golden Harvest Food Bank is pleased to announce the recipients of the Food Forever Fund endowment grants. Twenty organizations across the Food Bank’s 11,000-square-mile service area in Georgia and South Carolina have been selected to receive funding through the endowment, which aims to enhance capacity and strengthen food security efforts within the community.  

Established in 2002, the Food Forever Fund endowment operates as an independent 501(c)(3) entity with the sole purpose of supporting Golden Harvest Food Bank and its mission. It does so through the generosity of donor investments, including donations, legacy gifts, and bequests. The endowment originated from a bequest by attorney Oscar Allen, along with other legacy contributions, fueling Food Bank operations for more than two decades. 

This initiative, envisioned by Golden Harvest Food Bank’s founder Mike Firmin—who also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the endowment—provides an invaluable platform for legacy giving and offers annual financial distributions to support Golden Harvest Food Bank operations. Firmin's vision has been to utilize Food Forever Fund gifts to empower partners, offering grant opportunities to catalyze community transformation through service. 

“This is a dream come true!” stated Mike Firmin, Board Chair, Food Forever Fund. “When the first bequest to Golden Harvest Food Bank came to us from the estate of Oscar Allen, Esq., I knew that God had provided this money for a "hunger endowment," for the establishment of a new fund whose proceeds would eventually be distributed to the churches and agencies that drew food from the Food Bank. As more generous people in our area add the Food Forever Fund through donations and bequests in their wills, I pray that these grants to our agencies will continue and grow.” 

The endowment board earmarked $300,000 in the form of grants that were awarded to the 20 organizations with grant amounts ranging from $700 to $40,000. The competitive grant process, which began in December 2023, was open to all Golden Harvest Food Bank partners and agencies. The Partner Investment Committee, comprising of Harris Weinstein, Brian Ellefson, and founder Mike Firmin, played a pivotal role in the grant allocation process, ensuring that funds were directed towards initiatives aligned with the Food Forever Fund's mission and reached some of the most underserved areas in the network. 

Golden Harvest Food Bank extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the grant recipients and expresses gratitude to the donors whose generosity made these grants possible.  

Recipients of the Food Forever Fund and the amount of funding received include:  

Mt. Olive Church of the Nazarene in Johnson County - $40,000 

Clifford Grove Baptist Church in Wilkes County - $40,000 

Family Connections CIS-Glascock in Glascock County - $40,000 

Hancock Helping Hands in Hancock County - $37,073 

Unity Outreach Church in Aiken County - $33,663 

Noah’s Ark MBC in Burke County - $31,378 

Bridges of Hope in Jefferson County - $28,675 

Gateway Church in Barnwell County - $18,000 

Broken Shackle Ranch in Washington County - $17,577 

BackPack Program at Blythe Elementary School in Richmond County - $15,140 

Trinity COG Ministries in Allendale County - $13,860 

Putnam Christian Outreach in Putnam County - $6,700 

DCCM in Richmond County - $6,204.86  

BackPack Program at McBean Elementary School in Richmond County- $6,500 

McDuffie Manna in McDuffie County - $2,850 

Answers Community Church in Columbia County - $2,600 

St Mary’s/St Vincent DePaul Society of Aiken in Aiken County - $2,550 

Elbert Co. UMC Food Ministry in Elbert County - $1,154 

BackPack Program at Chukker Creek Elementary School in Aiken County - $800 

BackPack Program at Screven City Elementary School in Screven County - $731