Food bank low on donations

Food has gotten low and money is tight in Denise Bennett's home.

• Photos

Michael Holahan/Staff

The Rev. K. B. Martin (left), of Antioch Baptist Church, and Brittni Everhardt, the marketing coordinator for WJBF-TV (Channel 6), load donations to Golden Harvest Food Bank.

Food pantries like the one at Broad Street Ministry Center make the difference between going to bed hungry and having dinner, she said.

"This will be our dinner tonight and tomorrow night," she said Thursday while waiting for a basket of food. "I don't know what I would do without them."

Ms. Bennett said she gets food for her five children and five grandchildren about every six months at Broad Street Ministry Center. The facility is one of almost 300 agencies supplemented by Augusta's Golden Harvest Food Bank, which says fulfilling its mission has lately become a challenge.

During the summer, families need food bank help because children are home from school.

Golden Harvest officials say they must confront the current economic pressures of increased fuel costs as well as the squeeze on charitable donations.

The cost of acquiring food and fuel has gone up 32 percent since last year rising from $145,325 in 2007 to $207,620 so far this year, said Vikki Adkins, the director of development for the Golden Harvest Food Bank. Golden Harvest, which distributes more than 10 million pounds of food throughout Georgia and South Carolina, has been stretched by the growing needs of families.

"We're really trying to multiply the fish and the loaves," Ms. Adkins said. "We have faith, but it's a challenge when people who used to donate are now needing food assistance."

Golden Harvest trucks are traveling farther -- to places such as North Carolina and Florida -- and more frequently to meet the local food demands, Ms. Adkins said.

The food bank bought a 50-foot trailer in June to help make trips less frequent, said executive director Michael Firmin.

"Food and oil acquisition is something we can't do without," he said. "We just have to think of ways to make our routes more efficient."

The financial strains Golden Harvest faces trickle down to its agencies, said Jennifer Elliott, the director of Broad Street Ministry Center. Golden Harvest provides 60 percent of the food distributed there. More than 6,000 people receive food baskets from the food pantry each year, Mrs. Elliott said.

Merlissa Pugh said she considers Broad Street Ministry Center a Godsend to her family. She and her husband, Daniel, live on a fixed income and struggle to provide for their 4-year-old daughter.

"I know it's tough for people to donate with the mortgage crisis and gas, but this place is crucial," she said. "It really helps me provide for my little family."

Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.