For 364 Days a Year, These Good People Turn Out to Help Alleviate Hunger

With more than 750,000 people relying on food pantries and other public food programs in the greater Atlanta area there is no wonder that the volunteers who commit their time to Second Helpings Atlanta are so busy.

This month, on a Sunday morning, Naomi Eisenberger, founding executive director of the Good People Fund, was on hand to personally experience a typical SHA food.

Founded ten years ago by Guenther Hecht as a social action project for Sandy Springs-based Temple Sinai, SHA is today an independent non-profit organization that utilizes more than 300 volunteers to pick up food largely from local supermarkets and some restaurants, 364 days a year.

The “run” was to one of the many Trader Joe’s that donates daily. Within 15 minutes, two volunteers appeared with their cars and immediately loaded box after box of fresh produce, prepared foods, meats and even beautiful flower arrangements.

After a short ride to Malachi’s Storeroom housed in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the pantry volunteers helped SHA unload and weigh the day’s donation. Nearly 1,000 pounds of perfectly good, nutritious food was picked up from that one location and while they were still unloading another SHA volunteer arrived with her haul from a nearby Whole Foods.

Every Wednesday, the pantry prepares a meal for more than 200 families — which averages about 800-1,000 people — and also provides a supermarket-like shopping experience in their pantry. Judging by what they delivered they know that one thing sure to be on that Wednesday’s menu was a beautiful fruit salad filled with healthy melons, kiwi, pineapple, bananas, apples and pears.

To know that Second Helpings Atlanta repeats this entire scenario several times each and every day is astounding. Even more amazing is the fact that they operate with one part-time employee and a minimal budget. Couldn’t this model be developed in so many more places, eradicating or reducing the seemingly impossible problem of hunger once and for all?

More information about Second Helpings Atlanta, volunteering, other grantees, how to donate or get involved can be found at www.goodpeoplefund.org and www.secondhelpingsatlanta.org.

Founded in 2008, The Good People Fund, inspired by the concept of repairing the world, responds to significant problems such as poverty, disability, trauma and social isolation, primarily in the United States and Israel. We provide financial support and management guidance for small to medium grassroots efforts.

Our grant recipients are leading their non-profits with annual budgets under $500,000 and no professional development staff but are driven and determined to make a difference in their communities. With its guiding philosophy that small actions can have huge impacts and its emphasis on the personal connection, the GPF has raised and granted more than $6 million dollars since its inception in 2008.