Fresh Express

According to a 2020 study from Feeding America, 17.1% of Chatham County residents are considered food insecure. Additionally, 21.8% of the children in Chatham County are food insecure. The Y is proud to serve our community through our monthly no-cost food distribution program, Fresh Express.

In July of 2016, the Y, in partnership with Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, launched a monthly food distribution event at Curtis V. Cooper Primary health. On the third Friday of the month, Y staff and volunteers shop and distribute an average 750 pounds of fresh produce and bread to neighbors in need, at no cost to them. Each family can fill two bags full of fresh foods to take with them each month. In August of 2019, the Y added a second distribution site on the west side of town supported by the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health grant funding awarded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since the launch, we have been able to put over 60,000 pounds of fresh food back into the community to those who need it! If you would like to volunteer, contact Laura Schmarkey, association outreach program director, at [email protected].