- Over 80 neighbors in Hahira recieve meals every Wednesday from volunteers at the Hahira Community Center.
- Over 15,000 people in the county deal with food insecurity.
- Watch the video to hear from neighbors about scarce food resources.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
Neighbors in more rural areas like Hahira are working to help their community stay fed.
"Amazing that some people struggle when our country is so affluent."
I'm Malia Thomas, your reporter here in Valdosta, and while I was working on another story, I was informed about a neighbor who was stepping up to help struggling neighbors stay fed.
Now I'm checking back in.
This is Christine Hagan; she's a volunteer coordinator at the Hahira Community Center. She's lived in the area for almost 20 years and has a passion for keeping her community fed.
"It started out as for children in the summer, and then they increased or expanded it to all year round for seniors. Then children and seniors in the summer."
She tells me the efforts of the new food bank are all strictly voluntary. This makes keeping the needs of those looking for their next meal a challenge.
"Some weeks or months they may have to decide do I fill my medicine or do I buy groceries and they just need a little help sometimes but then we also have people that you know have a a real need all the time.
Over 15,000 people in the Lowndes County area are struggling with food insecurity. This is especially challenging in rural areas due to the lack of public transportation as well as viable supermarkets.
Hahira's Community Center as well as local nonprofits such as LAMP are working to pick up the slack.
Unfortunately, Yurshema Flanders, who I have been speaking to about food insecurity since last December, tells me resources are scarce, and they're also heavily relying on donations.
"It costs so much just to live that they're making sacrifices with the money that they're getting for food."
Food donations can be made to the Hahira Community Center at 117 E Main St.
In Valdosta, I'm Malia Thomas, reporting for ABC 27.
