From 1997 to 1999, the food pantry took part in a United States Department of Agriculture effort, the Griffin Food Security Project (GFSP), to address the root causes of hunger in the community. One part of the GFSP was the implementation of a computer database to track information about the pantry’s distributions and statistical information on clients. The system has been upgraded once since its installation in 1997. The data used in this report was generated using this system.

FINANCES of the Food Pantry

Because the Five Loaves & Two Fish Food Pantry is staffed primarily by volunteers, personnel costs are very low. The largest budget item is, of course, food. 

During 2002, the Pantry benefited from several can drives conducted in the community which kept down the cost of purchasing food. Two major drives were the annual Boy Scouts’ “Scouting For Food” Drive and the “Together We Can” Drive organized by local photographer Rick Blackshear. 

Local churches have strongly supported the Pantry, bringing in just under $ 25,000 last year.

The Griffin-Spalding Hospital Authority continued to support the Pantry, allocating twenty-one thousand dollars in 2002. 

Near the end of the year, a fundraising campaign, “Feed Griffin’s Hungry” was mounted. That campaign paid off, raising a total of nearly $ 8500. 

The recent economic downturn has been particularly hard on the poor of our community. Grants were sought to be used to assist with utilities, medications, and housing. These grants came from outside the community and were used to underwrite the Pantry’s emergency assistance efforts. 

The numbers are in on this year’s National Letter Carriers’ Association local canned food drive. The 2003 “Stamp Out Hunger” Drive brought in 7823 pounds of food that will be distributed to the needy of Griffin and Spalding County. That is nearly double the amount raised last year. The event took place on Saturday, May 10, as mail carriers in Spalding County collected food left at mailboxes across the community. Local Postmaster Sheba Martin lent her support to the effort, making many resources available to the drive’s organizer, Letter Carrier Cindy Tankersley. Four-H Club members helped sort the food brought in by the carriers as they finished their routes. Packaging and moving the boxed food were members of the Sacred Heart Knights of Columbus. Also taking part were Confirmation Class students from local Catholic churches. Because of the tremendous amount of food generated by the drive, it took three trips to move it all. The food was delivered to the Five Loaves & Two Fish Food Pantry where it will be distributed to the more than 850 families who visit each month. Food Pantry officials thanked everyone who donated to the drive. They also expressed appreciation to the 4-H Club, Confirmation students, and the Knights of Columbus.