- The new Second Harvest facility is set to open next year.
- The new building will host programs for area children, seniors, and volunteers.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors struggling with food insecurity.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Over 15,000 Valdostans don't know where their next meal is coming from, and Second Harvest is hoping to change that with a larger food bank.
I'm Malia Thomas, your neighborhood reporter for Valdosta, and I'm taking a closer look at the need in my neighborhood
I've you've been driving on Old Clyattville Road, chances are you've seen construction of a new building.
That will be the home of Second Harvest's new operation.
Officials told me in an update that he new facility will be open next year, and they plan on adding increased storage for dry and cold food, a Kids Cafe kitchen, a senior meal service, and a dedicated space for volunteers.
Such programs will further help South Georgians who don't know where their next meal is coming from, like Jeffrey Sirmans.
"That ain't a good feeling."
You may remember Jeffrey from my last story on food insecurity. I ran back into him traveling to get a meal from LAMP.
He tells me dealing with his illness makes a lack of a consistent meal much scarier for him.
"I wonder how my diabetes gonna react to that, and then how my blood pressure deals with it sometimes."
He also doesn't have a working vehicle at the moment, and with the community soup kitchen being in a farther location, Jeffrey tells me he has to use meals at his job to hold him over when he can.
"I get real tired of riding that bicycle sometimes, and I can't go nowhere when it's raining."
That's why Second Harvest is undergoing a $25 million building project to help neighbors like Jeffrey and the other 83,000 South Georgians dealing with food insecurity.
Eliza McCall, chief programming director for Second Harvest, tells me the new programs they plan on adding will hopefully decrease the hunger we're seeing.
"I'm excited because I know that need is there, and now we can do something to fix it."
Second Harvest plans on opening their new facility in 13 months. In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, ABC27.
