‘We all feel it’: Combating hunger in North Alabama with annual ‘Fill the Food Bank’ fundraiser

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — With grocery store prices sky-high, more people than ever are finding it hard to feed their families.

That’s why News 19 is teaming up with the Food Bank of North Alabama to combat food insecurity in the Tennessee Valley.

“We all feel it,” Development Director Bobby Bozeman said. “I just went to the grocery store this weekend and it’s tough. You have to make tough decisions. Sometimes when groceries go up, it looks like having to make a decision between utilities and food. Or, for a lot of our elderly people we work with, having to make a decision between medicine and food.”

Instead of collecting cans, ‘Fill the Food Bank’ is collecting cash. Just one dollar can provide seven meals for people in the community.

Food insecurity doesn’t just affect the unemployed. According to Bozeman, 60% of the people they serve are living above the poverty line… and still unable to afford groceries.

“It’s a lot of seniors, it’s veterans, it’s children and it’s working families that simply are underemployed or not making enough,” he said.

The Food Bank of North Alabama serves 11 counties and distributes items to food pantries, churches, women’s shelters, and other nonprofits across the Tennessee Valley.

Bozeman says he’s proud of the community response so far, but the work isn’t done yet.

“The need since Covid has not really gone down, in fact, it’s increased,” Bozeman said. “That’s what we’re really focused on now is letting people know that because it is important to really have the community behind us in times like these.”

The Food Bank of North Alabama has distributed 12.5 million pounds of food since October. Bozeman says they’re on track to hit 14 million by the end of the fiscal year.

‘Fill the Food Bank’ runs from Aug. 12 through Aug. 23.

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