US Reporter

Feeding GA Families Seeks More Partnerships to Help Them Provide Healthier Food to Their Recipients

Veronica Thompson Veronica Thompson on April 14, 2021

The pandemic had a massive impact on the delivery of basic services to many underprivileged groups in the various communities across the country, including the delivery of food supplies being consistently done by Feeding GA Families. The state-licensed non-profit food pantry and community services agency braved the pandemic to ensure that their regular recipients did not go hungry as the crisis escalated last year. This 2021, new challenges are emerging, and the organization is seeking out new partners and potential donors to help them continue to provide healthy food options to numerous recipients. 

There are three important aspects of food assistance that Feeding GA Families wants to be able to either solve or improve in the next few months. These include providing access to healthier food options such as fresh produce as a weekly staple, providing safe and nutritious food to clients with dietary restrictions such as food allergies and diabetes, and making food accessible to the homebound, medically at-risk groups, seniors, and recipients living in areas not readily served. 

Despite the pandemic, the organization is determined to continue with its mission. In 2020, it served a total of 741,000 pounds of food, and this year, it hopes to be able to reach more people. By collaborating with new partners and potential donors, Feeding GA Families is hoping to mobilize more food at a rate faster than they did last year. 

Its service programs include a homeless outreach, a student outreach, community hot meals, and a Christmas gift giveaway, an annual event that provides toys and basic clothing to children aged zero to 18 years old. Direct monetary donations, in-kind donations, and Amazon wish list donations are some of the options available to individuals who wish to take part in the organization’s advocacies. 

The creation of Feeding GA Families was inspired by the need for individualized food assistance. Its founders saw the need for an organization that will oversee the distribution of food to people who need it most. While the pandemic posed a great challenge to the team, it did not stop them from making sure that people did not go without food. The organization shifted to a drive-thru model to ensure everyone’s safety when getting their food supply. In addition to this, it was able to expand its emergency food boxes to include delivery directly to the recipient’s home, a welcome development for senior citizens and medically at-risk recipients. 

The team behind Feeding GA Families aspires to establish a permanent location in the near future through the help of their partners and supporters. Doing this will enable them to reach more underprivileged individuals who are in dire need of help. The team is open to either purchasing an existing structure or building a new one from scratch so the organization can develop a community resources center that will cater to local and national needs. 

As the organization continues to advocate for the pressing need to provide food security in many communities across the country, it hopes to widen people’s understanding of their potential participation in upholding the organization’s initiative. In more ways than one, anybody can contribute and help make a difference in the lives of countless Americans. 

Learn more about Feeding GA Families by visiting its website. Check out Instagram account for more information on its feeding initiatives. 

Utah Business Owners Unite to Help Other Local Businesses

Cindy Smith Cindy Smith on August 21, 2020

Draper, Utah – The coronavirus has affected millions of people throughout the planet. Most of these people are stuck at home, wondering what is going to happen in the coming weeks and months ahead. They’re out of work with bills to pay and no way of knowing when the pandemic will end. 

The deadly COVID-19 virus is not just a threat to humans, but it is also a threat to local small businesses as well. The longer these businesses remain shut down, the more damage it will cause to the local economy of Utah and every other state in the country. 

Small businesses are some of the leading employers in Utah. If these businesses lose money, then it could result in multiple layoffs and bankruptcies. That would be devastating to the state and its residents. A local man named Jimmy Rex came up with an idea to put one million dollars back into the local business economy of Utah. The idea involved purchasing gift cards to support small businesses in towns and cities across the state. 

Rex had a goal to get 100 friends to each put $10,000 into the local economy by purchasing gift cards from small businesses. That way, it would support those businesses and help keep them afloat until the pandemic is over. Rex’s good friend, Dr. Nicholas Howland of Howland Plastic Surgery, jumped on board immediately and purchased $10,000 worth of gift cards from local small businesses. 

“People have asked me what I’m going to do with $10,000 in gift cards,” said Dr. Howland. “The answer is simple. I’m going to donate them to all my nurses and employees who are dealing with this crisis too. Shutting down elective surgery has not been an easy decision for our practice. I’m happy to help other local small businesses while helping my staff at the same time.”

There are so many local small businesses that are struggling because they’ve been forced to shut down. Rex wanted well-positioned people to purchase the gift cards, which was why he turned to Dr. Howland for help first. Rex purchased $1,000 worth of gift cards from 10 different businesses, while Dr. Howland purchased $100 worth of gift cards from 100 different businesses.

“We are not suggesting that people go to stores and shop while ignoring social distancing rules,” said Rex. “We have adjusted our ways to support businesses ever since the guidelines for quarantine and social distancing have changed. Now, a lot of what we do is done online. Everything from purchasing gift cards to highlighting the businesses is all done through the internet.”

Once Dr. Howland got involved, he created the #helplocalsurvive project and had a goal of helping 5 to 6 businesses per day. Whenever one of these small businesses receives a shoutout on social media, it is accompanied by #helplocalsurvive. Anyone can go on Instagram and search this hashtag to see all the businesses that have been helped by Rex’s idea so far. He now wants other people in good positions to continue the trend and help other local businesses until they reach the one-million-dollar goal.  

“If we can let enough people know how to support local small businesses during these hard times, then I believe we can keep our local economy alive,” said Howland. “Every little bit helps.”