In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Gwinnett began a mobile food distribution program to support families. Many of the local food banks had staffing and supply shortages, making it hard for them to continue meeting the essentials of a growing number of people in need.
In a partnership with the Atlanta Food Bank, who has been using federal grant funding to purchase food, Gwinnett sets up at a different location around the county each Tuesday to distribute fresh and shelf-stable foods. Since the program began, Gwinnett has served more than a million pounds of food, reaching 33,575 homes and 136,922 residents across the county.
“When we initially started, we were only doing 200 hundred families, then it increased to 300, then 400, and just this past Tuesday we were at 577 families,” said Volunteer Gwinnett Manager Muriam Nafees. “Unfortunately, the need isn’t going away.”
Participation is free and no identification is required. By the time the mobile food service opens at 4 p.m., volunteers and Gwinnett staff have sorted the pallets of food delivered from the Atlanta Food Bank into boxes containing between 40 and 50 pounds of groceries per household. Cars and trucks then drive through the parking lot and open their trunks for a contactless distribution.
Partner churches and organizations help get the word out before each Tuesday event, but several locations are already on the calendar. On Sept. 20, Nov. 15 and Dec. 20 the mobile food distribution will take place at Bryson Park, 5075 Lawrenceville Highway in Lilburn and on Oct. 18 the event will return to Gwinnett Place Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Rd. in Duluth between Beauty Masters and the former Sears store.
The program is expanding by involving other Gwinnett departments already providing assistance. While these programs exist, many residents are unaware the help is available.
“For example, having the fire department come out and sign-up families for smoke alarm installs, having them do car seat checks to make sure the kids are in proper fitting car seats and if that family needs a car seat then we’re giving them one,” added Nafees.
As the need continues to grow, so does the need for more volunteers. Volunteer Gwinnett Is seeking helpers to assist mobile food distributions, quarterly mixed produce box distributions, WIC farmers markets, summer meals, senior meals and other initiatives.
Details: VolunteerGwinnett.net or email VolunteerGwinnett@GwinnettCounty.com.
