Valdosta's South Street Care House looks to raise $30K for expansion

• South Street Care House needs $30,000 to continue feeding Valdosta, providing 800-1,000 food boxes twice a week to residents in need.
• The funds will be used for upgrades like a larger warehouse and a paved area for walk-ups to improve service and efficiency.
• Watch the video to hear from neighbors about the need for food in the area.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

South Street Care House wants to keep feeding Valdosta, but they’re going to need $30K.

“We need to keep our neighborhood fed. It makes a difference”.

I’m Malia Thomas, you’re neighborhood reporter in Valdosta.

I’m speaking with neighbors here on South Street about that need.

Harry Holmes has fond memories growing up by South Street.

"When I was coming up, I loved it. Because everything was different then."

He tells me he wanted to give back to his neighborhood since he's retired, and he does just that volunteering with South Street Care Home, run by Sandra Tooley.

"We have people sleeping in tents and just walking around homeless. You know, we had one guy that worked there with us. He don't come anymore, but he's still homeless."

Volunteering has also shown Harry firsthand how much goes into keeping his neighborhood fed.

"We need the money...we need it bad."

Just how much does the care home need?

According to Sandra...

"It would take close to about $30k."

I checked with Feeding America.

16.7% of area residents don't know where their next meal is coming from.

And South Street feeds a chunk of those neighbors twice a week, giving out 800-1,000 boxes each day.

Sandra tells me she wants to do more, so the facility is going to need funding for upgrades, like a larger warehouse as well as a paved area for walk-ups.

"We are going to try to expand it so that we can work, have an enclosed place to work because the weather, when it rains, we have to stop. So we're going to enclose it. We're going to make the place larger."

Harry is urging his neighbors to donate so South Street can keep on doing...

"All the wonderful things we do for people. You can come in, you can get milk, meat, bread, sweets, whatever you want."

Fundraising efforts are ongoing.

In Valdosta I’m Malia Thomas reporting for ABC 27.