Nearly 20,000 people in Lowndes County are food insecure, including one in four children. The new facility can store over 3,000 pallets and produce 10,000 meals every four hours. Watch the video to see how this helps with expansion efforts in Valdosta.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
After 18 months of construction, Second Harvest of South Georgia is officially cutting the ribbon on its brand-new, 90,000-square-foot facility.
The old warehouse wasn’t large enough keep up with demandespecially as hunger in our region continues to climb.
According to Feeding America, nearly 20,000 neighbors in Lowndes County are food insecure. Across South Georgia, that includes one in four children.
With more warehouse space, more refrigeration, and a powerful new kitchen, this expansion means thousands more families will be reachedfaster and with dignity.
“As someone who lost her home during Hurricane Helene, knowing that we are up and running before the next hurricane season, knowing that we stand ready to help the community, that’s probably the thing that is the is top of mind.”
Eliza McCall says that’s what makes this work personal. For her, and for everyone here, food is about more than feeding bodies.
“Food insecurity in South Georgia is a crisis. On the best of days, one in five people of all ages struggle with food insecurity. And one in four kids live in a home without a stable source of food… we all need help.”
And it’s a mission CEO Frank Richards says this new space was built for.
“Just in this local facilities, over 3000 pallets of product that we can that we can move through the product every year. Plus we have the commercial kitchen operation that can produce over 10,000 meals of those that need them.”
The facility is already up and running, with the goal of feeding 3,000 more neighbors a dayand reminding every person walking through these doors: they matter. In Valdosta, I’m Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC27.
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