The Statesboro Food Bank needs a new home

By JODI BRANNON

Statesboro Food Bank

As the current operations director for The Food Bank, Inc., I was notified by a Statesboro Herald reporter on March 15 that our current location had been sold and will be demolished for the construction of a new senior living facility. 

Even though we knew the old Julia P. Bryant School was considered temporary, the unexpected news was jarring. The Board of Directors and I are grateful to the Board of Education for allowing us to operate from the old school for the past 7 years. Where do we go from here? 

On the heels of what has been our hardest yet most impactful year ever, our future feels uncertain. The phone has been ringing nonstop. Our supporters and clients have been asking, “When and where are you moving?”  “Are you going to be closed?”  I cannot lie, after this exhausting exercise in perseverance over the past year, I wonder if I personally have the energy to assist our Board as we face this new challenge. 

Many of you knew my father, Joe Bill Brannon. Sadly, he passed away this past summer during the most exhausting and stressful time of the pandemic. He had an unrelenting passion for making sure that no one would go to bed hungry with so many supportive people in the community. “Keep the Faith” was his mantra. We have endeavored to do so. 

Since March 2020, the Food Bank could not close its doors. Bulloch County residents needed food more than ever and we served up to 800 clients a month with curbside delivery—approximately triple the pre-pandemic rate.

After some soul-searching, I knew my father would want me to continue to educate those who are unaware of who we are, what we do for the community, and how we do it.  He would also tell me to give others a chance to receive a blessing, by doing what they can to help their neighbors. 

Who we are

We are a private registered 501c3 charity overseen by a board of directors that serves Bulloch County by providing food resources. We are a United Way member agency and a member of Second Harvest of the Coastal Empire – which is part of Feeding America.

What we do / How we do it

We provide our citizens in need of emergency food resources with a 7-day supply, per family member, of groceries based on USDA nutritional requirements.

We operate on funds from United Way, monetary and food donations from organizations, businesses, churches, and private citizens. We are not a federal, state or city government organization and are not funded by government resources. We do apply for grants, when eligible, to further our mission to feed the hungry in Bulloch County. We have three part-time essential staff members that are modestly compensated: operations director, pantry manager, and operations assistant. We have relationships with area grocery stores and restaurants that require weekly pickups to supplement the nonperishable items with additional items such as fresh meat, bread, fruit and vegetables 

Operating procedures

Before the Pandemic. We use referral agencies who have knowledge of the needs of our citizens to refer clients to receive emergency food. The Department of Family and Children’s Services who oversees the SNAP (Food Stamp) Program is our main referral agency as the process for applying and ultimately receiving funds for food can have lengthy wait times. Other referral agencies include the Red Cross, United Way, A.C.T.S. (Area Christians Together in Service), MyActionPact (formerly Concerted Services), Pineland Mental Health and Bulloch Wellness Center. We were regularly contacted by health agencies seeking help for their clients.

Over the Past Year. Due to Covid-19, most area agencies were not open to the public and referrals became difficult to obtain for our clients. Suspending our operations was considered in the early days, with the fear and uncertainty that came with the virus. But the need for food was even more prevalent due to…