Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank (The)

SOURCE: http://www.wtvynews4.com/home/headlines/27627924.html

Wiregrass Organizations Gear Up to Help Those in Need after Gustav

Donations are needed to help meet local disaster needs
Posted: 5:23 PM Aug 28, 2008
Last Updated: 5:23 PM Aug 28, 2008

As Tropical Storm Gustav continues to make its way toward the Gulf Coast, local organizations are gearing up for the possible aftermath.

These groups are depending on you to help them make a difference.

Hurricane season is here and that means it's time to make sure you and your family are prepared for when a storm hits.

Susan Holmes with the American Red Cross said, "Prepare yourself ahead of time in case you get trapped in your house by a tree or the power is out. Be sure you have what you and your family need to sustain you for a day or two."

Families in need often times look to non-profit organizations for food and supplies after a storm hits. Those organizations count of the public to donate those items so they can distribute them after a disaster.

David Hanks with the Wiregrass Area Food Bank said, "Mainly we handle food products, but during a disaster we need anything; tarps, bedding, blankets and sheets because people who have been affected don't have anything."

Even if the affects of Gustav aren't felt here at home, resources from the Wiregrass will go to help those in need.

"We'd be a resource if there's a storm that hits in that area,” Hanks said. “We were a resource during Katrina to Biloxi and Louisiana."

Blood is always an immediate need during a disaster. Both Lifesouth and the Red Cross are hoping to increase their supplies before Gustav makes landfall.

Here is the information you need to know to help those in need. If you'd like to donate non-perishable food items or disaster supplies you can visit the food bank on Twitchell Road in Dothan.

For information on how you can better prepare for disasters, visit redcross.org.

And, if you'd like to volunteer or need help after a disaster, you can call 211 to get in contact with numerous agencies.

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E-mail: wauwfb@aol.com

The Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank is a non-profit hunger relief charity that solicits and collects surplus food. The Food Bank stores and distributes this food to agencies primarily feeding the needy in a five-county service area that includes Houston, Henry, Dale, Geneva and Coffee counties, as well as parts of northwest Florida and southwest Georgia.

We are an independent non-profit, with paid staff, volunteers, and a board of directors. Operating from an 18,000 square food warehouse with refrigerated storage, and networked through America?s Second Harvest (the nations food bank network), the Food Bank can access food and other assorted grocery products, and operate at a minimal cost. As a result, member non-profit agencies that utilize the Food Bank are able to conduct their food programs in a cost effective manner. No donated food is ever sold by the Food Bank or by any
member agency. Food recipients incur no cost for food assistance.

A shared maintenance fee (SMF) assessed to affiliate agencies helps
to support the Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank. Additional
financial support is generously donated from churches, civic clubs,
businesses and concerned citizens.

Who we serve:

Food is distributed free by affiliate agencies to the hungry, the elderly and children either through on-site meals or by emergency food boxes.

The ultimate beneficiaries of the Food Bank are the people who receive the food we distribute, though much could be said of the benefits received by volunteers, donors and supporters.

Some programs which benefit are:

Churches
Food Pantries
Soup Kitchens
Group Homes
Assisted-living Homes
Half-way Houses
Day Care Centers
Senior Citizen Programs
Developmental Centers
Emergency Shelters
Neighborhood Centers
Nutrition Centers
Health Care Centers and Programs
Homeless Shelters
Brown Bag of the Wiregrass