Atlanta Community Food Bank 'aggressively' responds to inflation among lower-income Georgians
Teshia Elliott works to sort food items in the Atlanta Food Bank’s Hunger Action Center Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in College Park, Ga.
John Bazemore / AP Photo
Going into the holiday season, food pantries across metro Atlanta are preparing to serve families battling inflation this holiday season.
The national food index increased 2.1% over the last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Consumer Price Index. Despite this, organizations throughout the city are working hard to ensure that residents’ access to affordable food resources remains untouched.
One food bank that has been dedicated to this initiative is the Community Food Center – Jonesboro, operated by the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Located on Tara Boulevard and open by appointment Sunday through Thursday, the community food pantry is a “client choice-style,” where residents fill their shopping carts with a variety of non-perishable, frozen and refrigerated foods, just as they would at a supermarket.
“I got chips for my kids, I got cereal,” said Clayton County resident Sherese Owens. “I got bread, some can goods, soda, some juice.”
She says that her goal for the groceries in her cart is to “make it stretch as long as I can, at least for a week, you know?”
As Owens navigated the pantry, full of can goods, and fresh and frozen produce, a volunteer placed a cardboard box, filled with Thanksgiving items including a turkey, on top her selections.
“Times is really hard, like income ain’t enough, you wondering how you’re going to get your next meal and how you’re going to get to work,” said Owens, reflecting on how grateful she feels to be able to feed her family of four.
“We didn’t know where we was going to do Thanksgiving and how we was going even do it.”
Currently, 1 in 8 Georgians, or roughly 13%, suffer from food insecurity, according to The Atlanta Community Food Bank, which distributed over 127 million pounds of food last year across 700 partner organizations.
Kyle Wade, the organization’s CEO, says demand has gone up more than 60% over the course of the last two years.
“We’ve seen lines just continue to get longer over the last couple years as so many families are battling inflation,” said Wade.
“Times is really hard, like income ain’t enough, you wondering how you’re going to get your next meal and how you’re going to get to work.”
Sherese Owens, Clayton County resident and Community Food Center – Jonesboro shopper
The executive went on to note that the organization is serving about 100,000 more households a month than 30 months ago.
“But it really is barely enough to keep up with that demand,” he says. “We need a lot of support from the community in order to continue to meet this demand.”
Despite the overwhelming demand, Wade says the food bank is positioned well to response “aggressively” to this crisis. He also states that he hopes for elected officials “to recognize the crisis” and pass legislation with increased support for nutrition programs that support low-to-moderate income families.
“Make the right decision and to center the needs of these families when they’re making those decisions.”
Volunteer and donation opportunities for the Atlanta Community Food Bank can be found here.
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