STATESBORO, Ga. () — It’s been a landmark year for the Statesboro Food Bank, as the organization marks its first full year in a new, expanded facility. In that time, it’s served a record-breaking 1.6 million meals to families across Bulloch County and beyond.

Just one week after Hurricane Helene, the Statesboro Food Bank fed over 2,000 families in only four days. This was the moment their director called a game-changer. They saw that this set the precedent for a record-breaking year. Since then, with storms and economic struggles pushing more people through their doors, the food bank has served a record pace of meals, and they say they’re ready to serve even more.

“The week after Helene, we fed 2,177 families that week. We had 4,000 pounds of meat in our freezers at the beginning of the week – within four days, we had no more meat. I called our senators and our representatives and told them the plight that we were having. They all got into gear. For example, Dr. Warnock, Senator Warnock’s church brought us food,” said Sheila Stewart-Leach, the Executive Director for the Food Bank in Statesboro.

Since moving into the first phase of its new 12,000-square-foot facility last July, the food bank has seen demand skyrocket. The reach grew from 950,000 meals the year before to 1.6 million meals distributed. The organization served over 23,000 families and nearly 70,000 individuals.
That’s about a 33% jump from the previous year, thanks to the newly opened 6,500-square-foot pantry, which now operates six days a week with expanded hours, commercial refrigeration, doorstep deliveries, and better volunteer coordination.

Leaders credit the city, county, local donors, and $1.7 million in ARPA funds for making the new facility possible.

“It’s grown in the last year by over a third. The reason for that growth is not just that there is a new facility, but we also have the capacity to store more food. We have commercial refrigerators and freezers, which we did not have before. We are also now open six days a week. We used to be open three. We’re also open almost all day on those six days. So, access is phenomenally improved,” explained Stewart-Leach.

The remaining space – including a community dining hall and education classrooms – is set to open this September, adding free meals and nutrition classes to the mix.

Statesboro food bank by the numbers
• 1.6 million meals served in the past year
• 23,000 families across 7 counties have been helped since July 2024
• New facility includes pantry, dining hall & classrooms
• Full facility set to open by September 2025

Right now, half the building is still behind closed doors. But once it opens this fall, it’ll become more than just a food pantry – offering classes like prenatal and postnatal nutrition.