Front Porch Food Drive, an up-and-coming organization started by Dunwoody teen Sarah Menis, reached two milestones this week -- collecting more than 1,000 pounds of food for local food pantries, and partnering with the Community Assistance Center (CAC) to expand the reach of the food drives' impact.
Front Porch Food Drive collects non-perishable items directly from people’s homes, making it easy for people to give whatever is in their pantries. Each week, Menis leaves brown grocery bags on neighbors’ front porches with a flyer explaining her mission and a list of the food pantry’s most-needed items. A few days later, she picks up the filled bags and delivers them to CAC.
“This is an incredible story of a teenager seeing a need, asking ‘what can I do about it?', then taking concrete action to do it,” shares Francis K. Horton III, CEO of CAC. “Sarah is an example of the incredible resources we have in our community; partnering with her and Front Porch Food Drive helps us meet the increasing needs of our clients.”
As the cost of living increases, CAC and other food pantries are struggling under an increased demand for food. CAC feeds more than 1,000 families a month from three food pantry locations. Last year, they saw a 48% increase in food pantry clients, with the majority of new clients being employed full time. CAC’s supplemental food program helps families keep food on the table during a financial crisis and frees up funds in the budget to cover other essentials like food or insurance.
“So many people are in need right now and this is such an easy way to have a huge impact on your community. I’m so excited for this to grow because it’s going to help so many people,” says Menis. Her program will provide the grocery bags and customized flyers to anyone wanting to do their own drive and will coordinate delivery to one of CAC’s food pantries.
Menis and CAC plan to grow the organization through others doing front porch food drives in neighborhoods throughout Dunwoody, expanding into neighboring Sandy Springs and the Perimeter area. Through the partnership, high school teens can earn community service hours. Anyone, from church and temple groups to families with kids, are encouraged to volunteer.
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