Feed Fannin has spent the past 10 years growing in Fannin County, GA, supplying fresh, locally grown produce to the Family Connection Food Pantry in Blue Ridge, GA. We wanted to take a look back at the impact that we have made.
2009
- First meeting held January 29
- First garden planted on land owned by Davenport Wood Yard, yielding 1,167 lbs. of produce for Family Connections Food Pantry
- Forge Mill / Faith Presbyterian Church partner garden produced over 800 lbs. two other partner gardens also participated
- Education classes began
- $1,000 donated to Food Pantry
2010
- Feed Fannin put Green Donation Boxes in stores to offer shoppers the opportunity to donate food to Food Pantry
- Six community gardens participated; 7,000 lbs. produce delivered to Food Pantry
- The organization provided the springboard and support for formation of Snack in a Backpack
- First Community Thanksgiving Dinner offered in partnership with Good Samaritans
- $9,734 donated to Food Pantry
2011
- Tractor purchased with dedicated fundraising effort
- 10,200 lbs. of vegetables donated to Food Pantry from all gardens
- $500/month donated to Food Pantry; extra funds provided throughout the year brought the total to $9,577
- “Cool Kids Grow” youth garden club started at Blue Ridge Elementary by Feed Fannin member and supported by Feed Fannin
2012
- Feed Fannin incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
- $1,000/month donated to Food Pantry
- Began purchasing rice and beans to increase nutritional value of foods at Food Pantry
- Partnered with Master Gardeners to provide raised beds and garden mentoring to pantry clients
- 10,000 lbs. of vegetables provided to Food Pantry
- Volunteers began staffing Food Pantry two days a week with help from Faith Presbyterian Church
2013
- $1,200/month donated to Food Pantry, in addition to $4,000/year for rice and beans
- First Bowls of Hope fundraiser, raised $10,000 to purchase food-only gift cards from Food Lion for distribution to Food Pantry clients for Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Began doing Photos with Santa
- In spite of disastrous flooding, nearly a ton of vegetables grown in final year at Davenport Garden
- Secured lease of Ada Street property from the Board of Education; started meeting at farmhouse in October
2014
- First garden at Ada Street Farm, along with Forge Mill and Cherry Log gardens, brought in 7,500 lbs. of produce to Food Pantry
- Raised beds built and offered to community for personal gardens
- $1,200/month plus $500/month for protein-rich-food effort and other donations given to the Food Pantry for a total of $27,553.83
- Bowls of Hope again raised $10,000 towards the purchase of Food Lion gift cards for Food Pantry clients
- “Cool Kids Grow” youth garden club certified as Junior Master Gardeners with Feed Fannin’s continued support
2015
- $37,309 donated to Food Pantry as Feed Fannin begins purchasing food directly from Chattanooga Food Bank
- Bought 200 dozen eggs every two weeks to add protein to Food Pantry offerings
- Continued supporting “Cool Kids Grow” youth garden club
- Blue Ridge Elementary and East and West Fannin Elementary Schools integrated gardening into school studies, and Feed Fannin helped with funding
- Ada Street garden, along with Forge Mill, Cherry Log and Suches Community gardens brought in 5,723 lbs. of produce
2016
- Provided $47,027 in cash and purchased food to the Food Pantry, now including milk as well as eggs in protein-rich program
- Grew more than 9,000 lbs. of vegetables for the Food Pantry
- Green Donation Boxes continued to bring in significant food donations from the community
2017
- Provided nearly 100% of food ($57,000 worth) distributed by Food Pantry
- Bowls of Hope raised $25,000; the yearly increase in support continued to enable increased support of Food Pantry
- Ada Street Garden and community partners’ gardens yielded nearly 6,000 lbs of produce
- Financial support and volunteer assistance continued for “Cool Kids Grow” and school gardens
2018
- Feed Fannin/Barbara Ferer Community Research and Demonstration Garden was established next to Food Pantry
- Bowls of Hope brought in more than $29,000
- Feed Fannin contributed $71,865 for food for the Food Pantry and contributed half the funds needed to purchase a van so that Family Connections could pick up and deliver food for Food Pantry
- 7,412 lbs. of produce grown and donated to Food Pantry
Ongoing Projects of Feed Fannin
- Educational classes in spring and fall focus on subjects as diverse as raising chickens, native medicinal herbs, starting seeds, bee keeping, canning and making scarecrows
- Green Donation Boxes in the grocery stores and other locations continue to bring in many thousands of pounds of food from shoppers who are urged to “Buy 2, Give 1”
- Each year, Feed Fannin participates in Arts in the Park, the Old Timer’s Parade and Photos with Santa