HOMEGROWN HELP

From left, Jordan Gilbert and Allen Corbin, Southwest Georgia Farm Credit; Eliza McCall, Second Harvest; and Corey Cottle, AgGeorgia.

Homegrown Help Neighbors Helping

Neighbors

STORY COMPILED BY KRISTEN KENNEDY | PHOTOS COURTESY OF AGGEORGIA

In the modern times of fast food, "get it your way right away," buy here, ship there, prepackaged, conveniently frozen, preserved for extended shelf life, and the click of a button away, the term "homegrown" has seemingly lost its significance.

However, the uncertainties created by the pandemic has created an urgency and desire for words like "homegrown" again.

No one expected food banks, farmers, and corporate donors to join forces in the 20th century, yet that is very much the case. A local "help" initiative was spearheaded with a simple phone call by Corey Cottle of AgGeorgia when he reached out to Second Harvest of South Georgia, concerned about the possible impacts and repercussions of Covid-19.

Corey Cottle, Director of Marketing for AgGeorgia, has worked with Eliza McCall, Chief Marketing Officer of Second Harvest of South Georgia, on more than one occasion. "When the pandemic hit, we began to hear of schools closing for months, restaurants forced to close their doors, and people being ordered to shelter in place. We realized the logistics of our country were about to change, and our produce farmers were going to be affected significantly. Without restaurants, schools, and grocery stores to supply, who would they sell their products to?"

That is when Cottle made the call to McCall.

"We want to look hard at how we could contribute to both families and farmers in need," said Cottle.

Since Second Harvest is the leading hunger-relief organization in the region and the second-largest food bank in the state, they were the first point of contact. Serving nearly 12,000 square miles, 26 counties, and more than 400 partner agencies through a variety of programs including the Food Bank, Kids Cafe, Mobile Food Pantry, and Teachers' Harvest, among others, the three branches located in Valdosta, Thomasville, and Tifton are in high demand.

The two masterminds sorted through the many unknowns, looking at all the new areas of concerns; no one knew the immediate or long-term effects, nor how many families, farmers, and businesses would be impacted.

"We wanted to feed families and farmers while trying to solve the problems we were starting to endure with our food bank resources becoming limited. We also wanted to help the locals; people we commune with, shop with, eat with, and provide a way to circulate money within our communities to help pave our roads and send our children back to school," stated McCall.

So, HomeGrown Help was born. A program created specifically to address Second Harvest's resource needs to feed current and future families in need along with creating a security blanket for locally participating farmers through a pre-purchase 2021 produce contract. This contract secures sales to farmers through next year and provides food banks with the security of food supply.

HomeGrown Help is funded in large by AgGeorgia, individual contributors, and, most recently, the State Legislation. AgGeorgia gave the first and most generous donation of $25,000, which kicked off the program. This vital contribution was part of a total $50 thousand donation budget AgGeorgia set aside for food bank assistance. Second Chance received $25 thousand, and another $25 thousand was contributed to various food banks within their 79-county territory (in Georgia).

Another great asset in the HomeGrown Help program is Corbett Brothers Farms of Lake Park, GA. Ken Corbett Farms, LLC. is the South's premier grower of bell peppers, pole cucumbers, eggplant, straight neck squash, zucchini, and specialty peppers.

Standing (l tor) – Ronney

Ledford, Anne Smith,

George Reeves, Al Rowland, Howard Brown, Jack

Bentley (vice-chair), Dave

Neff (chairman), David

Smith, Dan Raines, Brian

Grogan, Glee Smith, Frank

Wright, Billy Clary. Seated (l to r) – Guy Daughtrey,

Bobby Miller Their advanced facility grows and packages produce, developing relationships in all major growing regions in the United States and Mexico. Corbett Brothers has been one of Second Harvest's leading suppliers for years and continues to be a fundamental contributor for HomeGrown Help as they donate regularly and send all of their excess produce to Second Harvest rather than culling. They will be a 2021 contractor as well.

One may ask if there is enough demand for all that supply, and the answer is YES!

Second Harvest is a Feeding America affiliate food bank and a major distribution outlet for partnering companies such as local food banks, backpack programs, child feeding programs through the schools, and an outlet for community-family necessities. From March to August, Second Harvest has handed out over 18 million pounds of food through 26 food bank events, distributing over ¼ million pounds of food at each event (which is the equivalent of seven semi loads). That is 42% OVER the entire distribution for last year.

"For every dollar donated to Second Harvest, 8.77 meals are donated to families," McCall explained. "If you can't donate to help us pre-purchase food from our farmers, then you can be an advocate for us. That is just as helpful. Take time to reach out to our legislators and tell them about HomeGrown Help."

McCall encouraged anyone interested in learning more about the HomeGrown Help program as a participating food source, a financial donor, or a recipient, to contact her at Second Harvest of Georgia via their website or by phone at

229-469-6925.

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