Farm Bureau contributes to ‘Harvest for All’

MACON – For the eighth consecutive year, Georgia Farm Bureau supported the Georgia Food Bank Association, making a $20,000 donation during the 80th annual Georgia Farm Bureau annual convention, held recently on Jekyll Island. Funds for the donation were raised through Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All campaign, which collected donations from county Farm Bureaus and the organization’s state office.

“Georgia’s farmers are anti-hunger; unfortunately, it’s an ongoing battle,” Georgia Farm Bureau President Gerald Long, who presented the check to Georgia Food Bank Association Regional Produce Sourcer Dustin Lard, said. “There are too many Georgians who aren’t sure how or when they will get their next meal. Recognizing this, we are committed to supporting the Georgia Food Bank Association and its programs.”

According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, an average of 14 percent of Georgia households experienced food insecurity over the three-year period from 2014 to 2016, meaning that during that time those households experienced periods where their diets were reduced in quality, variety or desirability, or they had disrupted eating patterns or reduced food intake.

ERS reported food insecurity in 12.3 percent of households nationwide in 2016. Food insecurity has been linked to a variety of chronic health issues.

Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap (http://map.feedingamerica.org/) interactive tool, which tracks county-level hunger statistics, showed that 36 of Georgia’s 159 counties had food insecurity in more than 20 percent of their households. In Calhoun, Clay, Dougherty, Randolph and Terrell counties, more than 25 percent of households experienced food insecurity in 2015, the most recent year for which statistics are cited in the Map the Meal Gap report. Clay County had the highest household food insecurity rate in the state, at 29.3 percent.

The Map the Meal Gap report indicated 1,656,710 food insecure people in Georgia in 2015, or 16.2 percent of the state’s total population. Nationally, the report estimated more than 42 million food insecure people.

“Access to food is a basic human need, and it’s sobering to think that many people are struggling to meet it,” Long said. “Our Harvest for All campaign is intended to help Georgia’s families in need.”

The GFB Young Farmer Committee coordinated the 13th Annual Harvest for All campaign. Long and 2017 Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee Chairman Mitchell Pittman presented a check to Georgia Food Bank Association Regional Produce Sourcer Dustin Lard.

In addition to helping with purchases of high-protein foods like chicken and peanut butter, donated money helps the GFBA offset costs associated with collecting and distributing food donations.

“Harvest for All supports the work of every Feeding America food bank in Georgia,” Lard said. “The Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmers’ efforts will feed many families who need help. We are grateful for their leadership and generosity.”

The GFBA started its Farm to Foodbank program in 2014, through which it accepts food donations directly from farmers, who give nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables that grocery chains won’t buy for aesthetic reasons. For the fourth straight year, Georgia’s farmers donated more than 13 million pounds of food, providing millions of meals, which the GFBA attributes to its affiliation with Georgia Farm Bureau.

Georgia Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All donation will have a statewide impact. The Georgia Food Bank Association distributes the funds to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia in Savannah, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank (Food Bank of Northwest Georgia), Feeding the Valley in Columbus, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in Athens, Golden Harvest in Augusta, the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank in Macon and Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta. To see which counties each food bank serves, visit https://georgiafoodbankassociation.org/find-your-food-bank/.

Past Harvest for All campaigns have solicited direct donations of food. Since 2004, GFB has coordinated 13 Harvest for All campaigns through which GFB members across the state donated about 49,000 pounds of staple food items and more than $180,000 in cash donations distributed to the food banks located throughout Georgia.

Created in 1985, the Georgia Food Bank Association is a membership association composed of seven regional food banks in Georgia that collectively distribute more than 130 million pounds of food annually to more than 2,000 partner nonprofits with food assistance programs throughout the state. The GFBA food banks share food, resources and best practices to help close the meal gap and ensure a hunger-free Georgia.

The GFBA was created in a statewide effort to support the food security of low-income and needy individuals, families and households, through their efforts and in support of their member food banks. Its role is to maximize the impact of member food banks. The food banks are members of Feeding America, the national network of more than 200 food banks.

Founded in 1937, the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization with 158 county chapters. As a membership-driven, nongovernmental organization, GFB serves as the voice of Georgia farmers and rural Georgia by advocating for them on legislative issues and promoting Georgia commodities. Its volunteer members also actively participate in activities that promote agriculture awareness.