Dougherty County Commission endorses $5 million food bank project

ALBANY — An expansion project for a food bank serving Dougherty County and three other southwest Georgia communities got a boost on Monday with an endorsement by the Dougherty County Commission.

Commissioners approved a letter of support from Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs endorsing a grant proposal that would provide funding for the Feeding the Valley Food Bank project.

The county will act as the government entity serving as a conduit for grant funding. The grant proposal is meant to assist in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and provide resiliency for future disasters.

The Columbus-based Feeding the Valley reported earlier this year that it experienced a 53 percent increase in clients during the pandemic, and 40 percent of those had never sought assistance from a food bank prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I’m glad to see Feeding the Valley is stepping up and making itself accessible to the county because we had a lot of people who went without food,” Cohilas said. “Folks going hungry is something that makes me very angry.”

The food bank is seeking $3.71 million in grant funds from the Department of Community Affairs for the $5 million pandemic recovery project.

The organization has been operating out of a former Sav-A-Lot store building on South Slappey Boulevard in Albany. The lease on the property expires next year, and the 3075 Ledo Road location will offer the chance for expansion and additional cold storage.

The former warehouse on Ledo Road has 35,000 square feet of storage space, Feeding the Hungry President and CEO Frank Sheppard said during a phone interview on Monday.

“It’s a lot more storage capacity for us to bring a lot more food and distribute it in the community,” he said.

Installation of new cold storage units outside the warehouse is expected to begin within a few weeks.

Feeding the Valley began operations in Dougherty County in the spring of 2019 as the first surge of the pandemic was hitting the community.

In addition to Dougherty County, the facility here also serves Calhoun, Lee and Terrell counties.

The county’s support through the letter will allow the food bank to recover project costs, including purchase, construction, renovation and architectural fees, if the grant is approved.

“We appreciate the Dougherty County Commission’s actions and working so hard on this, along with the (Southwest Georgia) Regional Commission,” Sheppard said.

No county funding will be required for the project, Dougherty County Administrator Michael McCoy said during a telephone interview after the meeting.

“We’re the applicant, and we’re facilitating the funding,” he said.

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]