EAL Fall 2023

and rice for her meals. When she started
the program, Martha was told it wasn’t
going to work as it is such a big problem.
“Just because you can’t do it all, that does
not stop you from doing anything,” she
says. “You can’t be discouraged. The program
has continued to grow.”
While the Food Bank has a staff of 18
workers, volunteers are needed. Last year,
23,741 volunteer hours were provided.
There are many ways to volunteer. One lady
who wanted to help began making cards of
encouragement to place in the senior bags.
Recently, a little boy named Barrett
stopped by the Food Bank with $100 from
sales at a lemonade stand. Martha was able
to tell the little boy that every dollar they
receive can buy seven meals, which meant
he was providing 700 meals for those in
need.
One new program provides fresh produce
from farmers of small or minority
owned farms. There is no cost, and USDA
pays for the product. “We had a couple of
farmers tell us they were getting close to
going out of business,” Martha states, “and
this has helped them stay in business. We
have been getting fresh fruits and greens
for our community pantries.
“When we are worried that our food
drives are down and we are getting less
from the national food bank, we look at the
fresh produce and eggs that are not going
to cost anything.”
Thanksgiving and Christmas present a
particular challenge as there are so many
needs. One church is helping by filling
holiday boxes for families, and the City of
Auburn started years ago asking employees
to take a turkey to work to donate. Others
who receive a turkey or ham at their work
will donate them, and EAMC donates turkeys
leftover from employee giveaways.
Turkey and trimmings are ideal for making
a family’s holiday meal special.
“We are focusing on how we do this
with dignity,” Martha adds, “and how we
let people know that this is not something
to be ashamed of and not be judgmental.
The truth is any one of us could be in that
situation.”
The Community Market of East Alabama,
one of the pantries, functions as an extension
of the Food Bank to provide direct
food-relief to low-income residents of Lee
County. It is a model program that offers
client-choice shopping in a grocery-store
atmosphere at a convenient location on
Pepperell Parkway in Opelika.
“While the ‘new’ Food Bank has a wonderful
facility, we now turn our attention
to the Community Market,” Martha states.
“The reality is that the Community Market
has long since outgrown its building.
Additional concerns include inadequate
parking space, the challenges for clients
pulling out onto a very busy road, and the
aging of the building.
“Last year an opportunity opened up for
the Food Bank to purchase land for building
a new facility for Community Market’s
operations. We are working on design
plans now. At this time we do not have a
timeline developed for this construction,
but we anticipate work getting underway as
funding allows us to move ahead with our
plans.”
Martha feels it is a privilege to be at the
Food Bank. “I was privileged to grow up in
a family with a mother and father who were
both very service oriented. They never said
why doesn’t someone do something for me,
as they were always looking to see what
they needed to do. I am just so privileged to
be in a line of work that I can do as mission
work being done locally, not overseas.
“I think we are built with a need to do
something for others. Whether it is helping
someone read with the Literacy Coalition,
helping families in domestic violence or
the Food Bank, find what sparks your heart,
and it will be a privilege to be able to do
that.”
For additional information on the Food Bank,
visit www.foodbankofeastalabama.com
94 EAST ALABAMA LIVING