AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Thursday was a big day for Golden Harvest as the company cut the ribbon on its new harvest rescue center.
The volunteers then immediately went to work, providing fresh produce for hundreds of hunger relief organizations in the region.
The project took two years to implement and is intended to help Golden Harvest become a center of social care.
It supports 25 local districts and 350 hunger relief programs.
“This is an incredible achievement,” said Amy Breitmann, President and CEO of Golden Harvest.
They are all ready to experience the benefits of Golden Harvest’s new crop rescue center.
Paul Sholette, Aiken Food Lion store manager, said, “It’s a big deal for us that our neighbors who are food insecure don’t have to choose between dinner and rent or gas or groceries.”
The new crop rescue center will bring millions of pounds of food to the region.
Breitmann said: “Until now, we simply did not have the capacity to have a space like this where we could do this sorting and distribution.”
Golden Harvest says this wouldn’t be possible without community partners like Food Lion, who presented Golden Harvest with a check for $250,000.
Sholette said, “The ability to go out into the community and feed people who are food insecure is just as important to us as what we do every day in our stores.”
Golden Harvest also says this space will allow volunteers to ensure each item is carefully sorted and checked.
Breitmann said: “These foods are loose products that were delivered by truck. Now they can divide them into more manageable bags and give them to our aid organizations, who can then pass them on to families who do not have enough to eat.”
She says the need is greater than ever.
“We need continued support to build this mission and help even more people,” Breitmann said.
Golden Harvest expects the new harvest rescue center will be able to distribute approximately 1.1 million kilograms of fresh produce to those in need.
To learn how you can volunteer or donate, visit the Golden Harvest website.
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