Chattanooga Area Food Bank - "Serving Hope" - 2022 Fall Newsletter

“When natural disaster hit Northwest GA, Ms. Emma Kate and her family needed the support of the Food Bank to regain their stability.”

Read their story on pg.3.

CELEBRATING

50 YEARS

of Serving Hope

Dear Friends, With summer coming to an end and school starting back, I’ve been thinking about how our community is always here for neighbors in Southeast TN & Northwest GA no matter the season, and no matter the challenges.

This spring, you joined us hand in hand as we celebrated 50 years of serving hope to our community. On one evening in March, you raised over $57,000 to help provide groceries to families in every community in our 20-county region.

In June, you helped us launch the expansion of our Northwest GA Branch, which will allow us to serve our community partners more efficiently with increased inventory capacity and better facilities for receiving and distributing food.

Over the summer, you made sure that no child went hungry during a time that was tougher than ever for families, amidst skyrocketing gas & grocery prices.

As the holidays near, I know that you’ll continue to be there for our community. Because every family, every child, and every senior deserve access to healthy food every day of the year.

Giving is so very important to provide hunger relief, but your gift provides much more than food- your gift brings hope to people in need and offers pathways toward greater selfsufficiency.

Thank you for your continued support. We are all better together.

Gratefully, Melissa Blevins President and Chief Executive Officer

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Catanzaro, Jr. - Chair Mercedes Bartow Jennifer Cookston Megan Flynn Phil Harris Peterson Hostetler Frank Hughes Maeghan Jones

Martha Leiper Betsey Kirk McCall Jennifer McIntyre Rob Reagan Murphy Sauceman Tracey Smith Celeste Bandy Weaver Daniel Yim

UPCOMING EVENTS • Hunger Action Month 2022: All of September • Scenic City Wings: - 10/22 • Share Your Christmas: - 12/09 • Family Volunteer Nights: - 9/13, 10/11, 11/2

For more information, visit chattfoodbank.org/events

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

Frank P. Pierce Foundation The Food Bank recently received a $1,000,000 gift to support our neighbors in Northwest Georgia through the extraordinary generosity of the Frank P. Pierce Foundation. R. Wayne Peters Foundation Chair, says, “In my years of serving as legal counsel to Mr. Frank Pierce, I learned that he had a heart for anyone whose circumstances prevented them from adequately providing for themselves, especially for those in the North Georgia area. It is in recognition of this lifelong concern of Mr. Pierce that the Foundation he created chose to make this gift to the Chattanooga Area Food Bank in support of its goal of providing food for those who are unable to provide for themselves. I know that Mr. Pierce would be delighted with this gift and the work of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank in the North Georgia Community.”

FOOD BANK

U P DAT E

Northwest GA Expansion Project In 2011 the Food Bank leased a 10,200 sq. ft. space at 1111 South Hamilton St. in Dalton, GA to better serve its nine Northwest Georgia counties. Today, as we celebrate 50 years of service since 1972, the Food Bank is looking to the horizon and the need for even more growth, with the Northwest GA Expansion Project currently underway. This project allows for the purchase, renovation, and expansion of the Food Bank’s Northwest Georgia Branch.

We will continue to serve all nine counties in the Northwest Georgia region with a stronger presence and even greater ability to bring larger amounts of resources to the community than ever before. This expansion will enable us to increase community engagement, our food storage capacity, efficiency for receiving and distributing food, and improve access to perishable food for all our Northwest Georgia community partners and neighbors facing hunger.

The Food Bank is preparing to meet a possible 10% increase in the next 3-5 years of people served and a 25% increase in the next 8-10 years of people served in this region. The expansion will also position the Food Bank to increase distribution in Northwest Georgia by 19%, from 6.3 million pounds of food to more than 7.5 million pounds of food annually. *Department of Community Affairs

I M PA C T S T O R Y

Emma Kate As a string of tornadoes rolled through the Northwest GA area, Ms. Emma Kate and her husband took shelter in the hallway of their small one-story home.

When the sun rose the next morning, that hallway was the only part of their house remaining.

“With all of the setbacks we faced during the pandemic, we needed a little help to get back on our feet.”

Ms. Emma Kate and her family are regular guests at the North Murray High School Mobile Pantry. The nutritious groceries they receive at the Pantry have brought a significant peace of mind. Today, they have a roof over their heads once again and as they continue to sort out life in the wake of disaster, the Food Bank is here to help provide at least one piece of stability while they regain their footing.

PA R T N E R A G E N C Y S P O T L I G H T

Helping Hands Ending Hunger In 2015, Carla Harward was volunteering at her daughter’s middle school when she noticed children expressing extreme hunger and the amount of waste that was created each day due to uneaten school lunches. After being told by the principal there was extensive red tape preventing that food from being used for any other reason, Carla used her 20+ years of experience as an attorney to overturn and rewrite those policies. Today, Carla is CEO of “Helping Hands Ending Hunger”. Through them, students can drop their uneaten food at collection stations and Helping Hands will appropriately repurpose this food, and supplemental food from the Food Bank, for children in the Northwest Georgia community to take home in bags for weekend meals and more.

VO LU N T E E R S P OT L I G H T

Northwest Whitfield High School At Northwest Whitfield High School, Laura Bivens leads the Service-Learning class of juniors and seniors each year. Service-learning provides high schoolers the unique opportunity to move beyond the classroom, become change makers and learn at the same time. One student said, “Even though it’s hard work, it feels great to walk away knowing that I helped someone that day.” A huge thankyou to these students who volunteer with us every week during the school year.

E M P L OY E E S P O T L I G H T

Melanie Hammontree A third generation Daltonian, Melanie supports the mission of the Food Bank as Director of Development. With over 17 years of fundraising and non-profit experience, she has been instrumental in creating the relationships that made the Northwest GA Expansion Project a reality.

A member of Catoosa Women’s Network, Association of Fundraising Professionals, and a LEADS Ambassador, Main Warehouse Melanie enjoys 2009 Curtain Pole Rd. spending time with her Chattanooga, TN 37406 husband Curt, sons, NWGA Branch Branch Foxwood Food Center Rhett & Blake, and 1111 S. Hamilton St. 3209 Wilcox Blvd. her partner in crime, Dalton, GA 30720 Chattanooga, TN 37411 Goldendoodle, Ellie.