DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The need for food donations is even greater during this time of year.
Charities are reporting that more families who are working full-time are still finding themselves visiting food pantries.
Channel 2′s Jorge Estevez went to a community market in Chamblee to show how you can help.
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The St. Vincent de Paul’s Community Market looks like any other grocery store.
But community members in need are able to shop there for free.
“We see like 50 to 70 people a day,” St. Vincent de Paul employee Valentine Chagolla said.
“What does that mean to you?” Estevez asked him.
“It means the world. I go home and I feel great. They get a lot of gratification and I feel like I’ve done something,” Chagolla said.
Mike Mies is the executive director who oversees market operations.
“We’re seeing about 50 percent more families than before,” Mies said.
“We do pickups from about 42 stores a week,” Mies said.
They call it their food recovery program.
“It means we’re keeping food out of landfills and putting it on people’s tables,” Mies said.
Tanisha Donald is grateful for the food pantry.
“I work throughout the week and the only days I get to come here is like on the weekends,” she said. “So I really appreciate them being open on a Friday to be able to assist me.”
St. Vincent de Paul is one of the oldest and largest statewide social services organizations in Georgia.
Donald said she wants everyone to know that it’s okay to ask for help.
“Never be afraid and never be ashamed if you need help. It’s okay to need help,” she said.
Mies said there’s no income requirement to be able to shop at the community market.
They will never turn down someone in need.
The St. Vincent de Paul organization is forecasting a 20 percent increase in services for 2025.
Georgia ranks seventh in the country where families have the hardest time paying for household expenses.
The group reports receiving donations from about 3,000 people, corporations, and government agencies.
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