Southwest Georgia food banks, pantries see surge in demand, less supply during holiday season

ALBANY — A line of people stretched from the Lord’s Pantry’s front door to halfway across the food pantry’s large, gravel parking lot when Tom Wilburn opened up at 8 a.m.

Temperatures had dropped to nearly freezing the night before. The morning was cold and windy, Wilburn, the Albany food pantry’s board of directors president, said. He began ushering people inside, telling them to get warm.

The people were there to pick up a box of groceries — anything from canned vegetables to frozen meats or tiny bags of pop tart snacks. Hygiene bags with soap, toothbrushes and toilet paper were available to the homeless. Children were provided a free bag of food.

Wilburn served 90 people on Tuesday, 92 on Wednesday and 64 on Saturday. So far in 2023, the pantry has given out 11,186 boxes of groceries. The pantry’s numbers served tend to be high, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food banks locally and nationally are facing a high demand as people come face to face with the end of pandemic-era government food aid and higher grocery prices. Food prices rose 3.7% between September 2022 and September 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index reported.

Feeding America, a national food bank organization, names southwest Georgia counties like Early, Clay, Dougherty, Terrell and Calhoun as some of the most food insecure counties in Georgia. The organization defines food insecurity as when people can’t access the food they need to live their fullest lives.

We’re in a poor, rural, underserved and under-resourced area, Dougherty County Commissioner Russell Gray said, adding the distance to the closest grocery store where people can access healthy, fresh foods as well as the lack of transportation infrastructure, is a challenge for many.

The need for food pantries and banks hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels in Dougherty or surrounding counties, Gray said. High inflation, along with the high need, hurts the consumer. The county leader said he believes food insecurity is worse than it’s ever been in Dougherty County.

“It’s hard to quantify because … in many cases, it’s become the standard and not a transient problem,” he said.

There’s a level of poverty that has become perpetual in our community, in the region, Gray said. We’ve become so dependent on outside food sources that many people and communities would crumble without them.

Dougherty County Commissioner Anthony Jones says the food insecurity issue is worse than it’s ever been in his lifetime. He said he has seen, especially during this holiday season, lines wrapped around buildings at food drives and banks.

“Tis the season to be jolly, but how can you be jolly if you’re hungry?” Jones said. “How can you be happy if you don’t have food?”

Accessibility to a food bank is a means of survival in these times, he said.

This is a need the Lord’s Pantry has been trying to meet since its creation in 1975, Wilburn said. The pantry, which is run by volunteers, serves regular clients and is constantly receiving new ones as well. Many are homeless.

Access to the pantry’s foods is income-based; however, Wilburn said he finds himself being flexible when a person in need is slightly off required numbers.

The pantry’s warehouse is stocked with foods as well as clothes. It’s given away 31,107 pieces of clothing so far this year, he said.

The pantry has a partnership with Feeding the Valley, a Columbus-based food bank organization off-shooting from Feeding America. Feeding the Valley came to southwest Georgia in 2019 and serves Dougherty, Lee, Terrell and Calhoun counties.

Feeding the Valley has distributed about 15 million pounds of food since entering the region, CEO Frank Sheppard said. It’s grown a lot in the last five years, now distributing more than 5 million pounds of food a year.

In 2021, the Dougherty County Commission endorsed a $5 million food bank project, which allowed Feeding the Valley to open a brand new 35,000-square-foot facility on Ledo Road in 2022.

While Feeding the Valley has been great, Wilburn said, the pantry is seeing less supply from it and has had to go out and purchase goods locally to meet the need.

This is because of a food shortage that food banks are facing nationally, Sheppard said. Several pandemic-related factors have combined to cause a food shortage in the secondary market where the bank operates for the first time in its 40-year history as a national organization.

“The food insecurity rates are going up, so it’s that proverbial double-whammy of more demand and less supply,” he said. “But we continue to work through those problems and get more food into the community.”

Feeding the Valley saw a 53% increase in demand for its services during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheppard said. That number is still 35% above pre-pandemic levels in 2023. The effects of the pandemic are long-lasting, and Sheppard said he expects to see this trend continue for a number of years.

Feeding the Valley’s partners in multiple counties are seeing this as well. Katrenia White heads food distribution in Leary. She and others distribute food through a mobile pantry at Bethel CME Church once a month.

It’s been a difficult year for people, and White said she sees more and more people come out to get food.

The increase in food prices is hard for anyone, but White said she serves many seniors, people with disabilities and homeless people who are hit even harder.

Despite the challenges, Sheppard said, Feeding the Valley is always looking to expand its capacities, especially through new partnerships with food sources like farmers and manufacturers.

Both Sheppard and Wilburn emphasized the importance of local food drives and donations. Food drives amount to about a million pounds a year of food that comes into Feeding the Valley, Sheppard said.

“It’s extremely important, so no one should think that any campaign is too small,” he said.

Feeding the Valley is always accepting donations at its warehouse on 1706 Ledo Road, Monday through Thursday, Sheppard said. People can drop off food or make a financial donation at https://feedingthevalley.org/donate/.

The Lord’s Pantry also takes food and clothing donations at 219 W. Society Ave. Wilburn asks people to check the expiration date on donated foods.

Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan[email protected]
Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan

Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan