Golden Harvest Food Bank

🙋 Calling all volunteers!

Starting next week, we will need more volunteers Monday through Friday (and one Saturday each month) to pack weekend meals for children in our Backpack Program, food boxes for seniors, and meals for families.

as we get ready to serve thousands of neighbors this year! Please sign up through our volunteer system at volunteers.goldenharvest.org.

Project Life, an organization that has provided hope to thousands of neighbors in since 1997, has moved into a new space: a former car dealership, complete with a thriving food pantry and clothing closet.

Read more:

Augusta Food Pantry Expands into New Space Project Life staff and volunteers gather in the clothing sorting area, where donated clothes are processed. The organization serves guests 3 days a week. Project Life, an organization that has provided hope to thousands of neighbors since 1997, has

Volunteers from Bridgestone helped us inspect and organize food donations at our Aiken Volunteer Center! Thank you for helping us feed our neighbors in need.

A big thanks to West Fraser for donating hams and turkeys for the holidays! Thank you for helping us bless our neighbors this holiday season.

Stamp Branch Baptist Church spread Christmas blessings last week with toys and meals for families in Warrenton, GA!

"Every Christmas, for the last five Christmases, God has blessed us to be able to do this programs, Toys for Tots," said Beaurine Wilkins, who leads the food ministry at Stamp Branch.

Along with toys, Stamp Branch volunteers distributed bags of healthy groceries from our Food Bank.

"I wouldn't be scared to say we already gave out a hundred already," said Beaurine, less than an hour after kicking off the event.

With inflation and other challenges this year, many families are reaching out for food assistance for the first time. We are so grateful for our partner agencies like Stamp Branch, who fill plates with healthy meals!

"It's just a joy," said Beaurine.

Just before Christmas, Lori visited Stamp Branch Baptist Church's food and toy distribution to help restock her kitchen — and helped make the holidays special for our neighbors.

"I can't tell you how this is going to help us out. My husband has been out of work since May with the actors being on strike … so our cupboards are completely bare," said Lori. "In the past, we've been able to make donations, and so it's just really nice to now be able to come here and have relief."

Along with picking up ingredients for healthy meals at home, Lori donated some clothing and toys for Stamp Branch to offer for our neighbors in need.

"My mom passed away, and she collected dolls, and she wanted to make sure her dolls went to little children that would play with them, instead of just being up on a shelf like she had them," she said.

This holiday season, give the gift of hope for children, seniors, and families in the CSRA. Visit https://bit.ly/3qS3EhX to donate. Every $2 provides 5 meals!

Merry Christmas Eve! This holiday season, it's not too late to give the gift of hope all year long for children, seniors, and families in the CSRA.

Visit https://bit.ly/3qS3EhX to fill plates with healthy meals in 2024. Every $2 provides 5 meals for our neighbors!

Happy Holidays! Our Aiken and Augusta warehouses will be closed until January 3, 2024, but The Master's Table soup kitchen will continue serving lunch daily from 11 a.m. to noon.

For other food assistance, please visit goldenharvest.org/find-help.

We wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a happy new year!

Coming up in January, we have some exciting volunteer opportunities at our new Volunteer Center at our Augusta warehouse!

Join us to engage in the rewarding experience of packing backpack meals for local children, food boxes for seniors, and meals for families.

Beginning on Jan. 8, we will welcome volunteers in the following two shift options:
- 9 a.m. to noon, Monday - Friday
- 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday - Thursday

Please sign up through our volunteer system at https://goldenharvest.org/volunteer/, or reach out to Doressa Hawes at [email protected] for more details.

Our volunteers have been instrumental in transforming lives and helping us build a healthy, hunger-free tomorrow for our community. We are deeply grateful for the who make it possible to distribute millions of meals annually!

Last week, we welcomed The Lazarus Project as a new partner agency in Swainsboro, Georgia!

Alongside our longtime partner agency Summertown Baptist Church, The Lazarus Project will distribute food and resources in rural Emanuel County. This collaborative group of church leaders, donors, and local leadership is committed to serving children, seniors, and families in need.

We simply can't do this work without our incredible ! We are so grateful for this new partnership.

A special thank-you to Quest Church for their generous donation of $4,270 — enough funds for over 10,000 meals! We are so grateful for our community this holiday season.

For the third year in a row, we teamed up with Fort Eisenhower Christmas House (The Christmas House) to provide boxes of food for E6 and below active-duty service members and their families.

Inside the festively decorated Christmas House, military families shopped for books and toys, made possible by donations from over 100 organizations and individuals throughout the CSRA.

Our team provided ham or turkey and a box of shelf-stable food for each visitor. This year, we served 445 families, including 869 children!

“Being able to provide food as well as toys for our military families who have dedicated their lives to selfless service is a true blessing and I am beyond grateful,” said Nomi Stanton, Fort Eisenhower Christmas House advisor.

Founded over 60 years ago by a group of nurses who worked on base, Fort Eisenhower Christmas House began as a mission to bring joy and toys to military families. The group offered teddy bears as Christmas gifts to children of deployed military personnel.

Over the years, the Christmas House tradition has expanded to provide all qualifying military families toys, bicycles and food boxes, courtesy of a partnership with Golden Harvest.

“This partnership means a great deal to us, and we’re glad that we can return the help to those that help us every single day,” said Amy Breitmann, our President & CEO.

The holiday season is in full swing at The Master's Table, with Christmas trees and plenty of hearty winter meals for our neighbors in need! We are so thankful that our soup kitchen can provide warmth and fellowship for so many.

Thank you, First Community Bank, for your gift of 2,500 meals for children, seniors, and families in the !

This season, let's share more than a meal — let's share hope. Set the table for neighbors in need by donating to Golden Harvest Food Bank. Every $2 donated provides 5 holiday meals to families, seniors, and children in our community: https://bit.ly/3qS3EhX

Our friends at Sweetwater Baptist Church picked up 25 turkeys from our Aiken, SC warehouse last month to provide holiday meals at their food pantry!

"We serve anywhere from 8 to 10 families a week with a buggy full of groceries, with the help of Golden Harvest food," said Sharon.

Located in North Augusta, Sweetwater Baptist's food pantry is open every Monday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

"It's such a blessing," said Sharon, food pantry manager. "Just seeing people's expressions when they see those boxes and the turkeys, it makes it all worthwhile."

Thank you for helping us feed our neighbors, Columbia County GA Chamber of Commerce!

Our in Downtown Augusta grows fresh, farm-to-table produce for our neighbors in need. We are so thankful for this generous donation from Bank of America! Thank you for helping our Urban Farm thrive.

At the annual James Brown Turkey Giveaway, Felician took a break from preparing lots of Thanksgiving sides to pick up a turkey and one of our boxes of donated nonperishable goods.

"It's really going to help me out," she said. "I always come every year."

We are so proud to partner with organizations across the CSRA to provide holiday meals for our neighbors!

This holiday season, set the table for families, seniors, and children in our community. Every $2 donated provides 5 meals: https://bit.ly/3qS3EhX

A big shout-out to 88.3 WAFJ for their donation of over 7,000 meals! Thank you for helping us feed children, seniors, and families across the .

In November, Joely Leguizamon, site administrator for Catholic Charities of South Carolina, picked up turkeys to give to visitors at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Center.

"Catholic Charities of South Carolina is grateful for the turkeys that we are receiving," she said. "It's going to be a great present for some of our clients."

We serve six counties in : Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, and McCormick. To find one of our partner food pantries near you, enter your zip code on our Food Finder at goldenharvest.org/find-help.

With a gift of $3,000, Aiken Electric Cooperative, INC helped ensure students in the Backpack Program at Greendale Elementary School receive the nutritious food they need to thrive! Every Friday, teachers pack students' backpacks with cereal, fruit, milk, snacks, and entrées for the weekend. Thank you, AEC!

On Thanksgiving, Ralph enjoyed a morning of fellowship and a festive holiday meal at The Master's Table.

Ralph is a regular guest at the soup kitchen, which has helped him get back on his feet. He's thankful for the motivation and encouragement from The Master's Table team.

"I love coming back here, I love talking to my people, because I'll never forget where I came from. I thank God for the blessings that He gave me," he said.

This holiday season, give the gift of hope. Visit https://bit.ly/3qS3EhX to donate. Every $2 = 5 meals for our neighbors in need!

This , our community gave the gift of hope for our neighbors in need. Thanks to your generosity, we can provide over 65,000 meals for children, seniors, and families this holiday season!

This year, we celebrated 15 years of partnership with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC. We are so thankful for SRNS's generous gift of $40,000 — enough funds to provide 100,000 meals for children, seniors, and families in need!

Project Life, an organization that has provided hope to thousands of neighbors since 1997, has moved into a new space: a former car dealership, complete with a thriving food pantry and clothing closet.

The new facility provides more space for the food pantry and behind-the-scenes operations, allowing Project Life volunteers to serve more guests.

“We continued to see more and more people each week, each year, and we just felt it was time for a bigger space. When Acura of Augusta was moving out, they asked if we were interested, and we said absolutely,” Eric Sowder, director of operations at Project Life, said.

Our Food Bank partners with Project Life to provide groceries for children, seniors, and families in need. With challenges like decreased SNAP benefits and increased grocery prices, families across our service area have been seeking food assistance from local food pantries for the first time.

Project Life served about 20 more people per day in 2023 compared to the previous year, said Sowder.

For visitors to food pantries and clothing closets like Project Life, a friendly greeting and a warm smile can make a difference.

“Having a place where people can feel at home, I think that’s really important,” said Sowder. “We believe us being here, at this location, is bringing life to the city, bringing back encouragement, bringing back hope, and just really pointing people back to the Father’s love.”

Thank you so much for visiting and helping our neighbors in need, Trinity UMC Preschool! ❤️

We are so thankful and honored to have received a grant from the Arby's Foundation! This grant funded over 9,000 meals for children who receive food from the Backpack Program in our community. for kids in need. Thank you, Arby's, for your support!