Crash victims remembered

SANDY SPRINGS

Solidarity Sandy Springs co-founder honored

Jennifer Barnes helped start the food pantry Solidarity Sandy Springs at the beginning of the pandemic.

BY BOB PEPALIS

Jennifer Barnes, co-founder of food pantry Solidarity Sandy Springs, was named Volunteer of the Year by the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber on Oct. 12.

“I think most people pray for or ask for what it is they are supposed to do in their lives, what meaning. This is my chapter right now for giving back,” she said.

Barnes, along with Erin Olivier and Sonia Simon, started the food pantry in March 2020 to help feed families during the pandemic.

Solidarity Sandy Springs had its modest beginnings at the restaurant Under the Cork Tree, using 800 square feet of space. They thought they’d feed 10 families for two weeks at the start of the pandemic. But it continued to grow, and so far, 31,000 people have received help through the food pantry.

The nonprofit organization’s secondary mission is promoting volunteerism, Barnes said. More than 1,900 unique volunteers have worked at the food pantry. Most of them have been middle and high school students, along with scouts.

“In the beginning, our mission was creating community through crisis,” she said. “And then we added on to that ‘… and beyond.’ Now I feel like we are out of the crisis period.”

The mission in the beginning was to keep people from going hungry. Food insecurity was very real, she said. Many of the families helped were from local schools, including Lake Forest and High Point Elementary schools.

Most families lacked a food reserve, Barnes said. She feels that Solidarity Sandy Springs now serves as those families’ safety net. They don’t have to decide if they will pay rent, pay an electric bill, go to the doctor or feed their family. They know they can feed their family.

“That’s what your village does. They shore you up,” she said.

Another beautiful thing about the people served is that if they don’t need something, they won’t take it, Barnes said. The community being served is grateful, humble and kind – and not entitled. That in turn makes you want to do more for people, she said.

From early days of survival mode, Barnes said now she feels the nonprofit is moving from survive to thrive.

This summer, Solidarity Sandy Springs relocated to the Parkside Shops shopping center at 5920 Roswell Road, Suite C-212. The food pantry will be housed there until the end of 2021. Then, the group hopes to open a permanent food pantry at a new branch of the Community Assistance Center on Northwood Drive.

A new goal for Solidarity Sandy Springs is to figure out what can be done to make the community’s lives better, easier and more productive.

Today, Barnes’ days are busy, filled with working for the food pantry and selling real estate every afternoon. But, she said she has a great team of people for both.

“When you surround yourself with good people, anything is possible. But nobody can do this on their own,” she said.