Greene County Food Pantry (GCFP) relocated to its new building at 1220 Siloam Rd., Greensboro, last December but celebrated the milestone with a Feb. 5 ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Greene County Chamber of Commerce.
The local nonprofit has been in operation since 2007. It has distributed more than two million pounds of food over the past six years, with approximately 60 percent of its recipients being children or seniors.
“Since opening our doors, we’ve served more than a thousand individuals monthly, and currently we’re between 550 and 600 households each month,” GCFP Secretary Nancy DiSpirito said.
“Each receives about a 40-to-50-pound bag of food with combinations of canned goods, dry goods, frozen protein, and fresh produce like apples and yams. Our recipients are eligible to come once a month,” she added.
GCFP Chairman Steve Ruzika said the new facility covers 4,200 square feet, and will help the organization to expand its services and store more food for recipients.
“Our delivery here is significantly easier than where we were previously, at two apartments,” Ruzika said. “We went out into the marketplace and looked [for a new location], and then we were able to find some very interesting donors that helped us fund the purchase.”
With the relocation, DiSpirito said the GCFP board of directors expects at least a 20-percent increase in recipients, whom they refer to as “neighbors.”
According to DiSpirito, Greene County Food Pantry will soon open a community garden as part of its services, located adjacent to its new indoor facility.
“We plan to get started on the community garden later this spring,” she said.
Additionally, DiSpirito noted the GCFP will begin medical evaluations for recipients this month as part of a partnership with the Lake Oconee Rural Health Initiative.
“This is a program in cooperation with the University of Georgia and Georgia State University, so two of our [facility] rooms are dedicated to that,” she said.
Overall, GCFP plans to continue prioritizing the provision of high-quality food to its recipients.
“It’s as simple as being able to provide more to those in need, and give them nutritious food,” Ruzika said.