MACON, Ga. – For the seventh straight year, Georgia Farm Bureau collected cash donations in its annual Harvest For All campaign, which generated $20,000 in donations from county Farm Bureau chapters and the home office.

According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), 14.9 percent of Georgia households experienced food insecurity in 2015, meaning that during the year they had periods where their diets were reduced in quality, variety or desirability, or they had disrupted eating patterns or reduced food intake. The ERS study showed food insecurity in 13.7 percent of households nationwide.

Feeding America produced a Map the Meal Gap report earlier this year tracking county-level hunger statistics. The report showed that 53 of Georgia’s 159 counties had food insecurity in more than 20 percent of their households. In Calhoun, Clay, Dougherty, Jefferson, Macon, Randolph, Terrell and Warren counties, more than 25 percent of households experienced food insecurity in 2014, the most recent year for which statistics are cited in the Map the Meal Gap report.

“It really is heartbreaking to know that so many Georgians struggle to maintain access to food,” said Georgia Farm Bureau President Gerald Long. “Through the Harvest For All campaign, we hope to help more families acquire the food they need.”

The GFB Young Farmer Committee coordinated the 12th Annual Harvest For All Campaign. Long and Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee Chairman Will Cabe presented a check to Georgia Food Bank Association (GFBA) Regional Produce Sourcer Dustin Lard during Georgia Farm Bureau’s 79th Annual Convention on Jekyll Island.

The GFBA uses the money to purchase high-protein foods like chicken and peanut butter as well as covering costs associated with collecting and distributing food donations.

In addition to helping with purchases of high-protein foods like chicken and peanut butter, donated money helps the GFBA offset costs associated with collecting and distributing food donations.

“One of our biggest obstacles is the transportation costs of accepting produce donations,” Lard said. “We have to hire trucks to go to the farm, and their time plus the cost of the fuel is offset by cash donations like the one from Georgia Farm Bureau.”

Lard estimated that more than 1 million pounds of produce can be transported for $20,000.

The GFBA started its Farm to Foodbank program in 2014, through which it accepts food donations direct from farmers, who give nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables that grocery chains won’t buy for aesthetic reasons. For the third straight year Georgia’s farmers donated more than 10 million pounds of food, providing more than eight million meals, which the GFBA attributes to its affiliation with Georgia Farm Bureau.

Georgia Farm Bureau’s Harvest For All donation will have a statewide impact. The Georgia Food Bank Association distributes the funds to America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia in Savannah, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Chattanooga Area Food Bank (Food Bank of Northwest Georgia), Feeding the Valley in Columbus, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia in Athens, Golden Harvest in Augusta, the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank in Macon and Second Harvest of South Georgia in Valdosta.

Past Harvest for All campaigns have solicited direct donations of food. Since 2004, GFB has coordinated 10 Harvest For All campaigns through which GFB members across the state donated about 49,000 pounds of staple food items and more than $160,000 in cash donations distributed to the food banks located throughout Georgia affiliated with Feeding America.

“The Harvest For All campaign is a way for us to help ease the hunger many of our fellow Georgians experience,” said 2016 GFB Young Farmer Committee Chairman Will Cabe. “It is a significant need and we are happy to contribute. I can’t think of a better way for farmers to make a real, positive impact in their communities.”

Founded in 1937, Georgia Farm Bureau is a membership-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to serving as the voice of Georgia farmers and rural Georgia. GFB, Georgia’s largest farm organization, promotes Georgia commodities and offers legislative representation to ensure Georgia’s farming future. Its volunteer members actively participate in local, state and national activities that promote agriculture awareness to their non-farming neighbors.

GFB membership is open to the public and offers a wide variety of benefits to its members including insurance and discounts for health services, travel and family entertainment. Enrollment in any of the member benefits is optional and not a requirement for membership. Becoming a GFB member helps support local farmers and ensures Georgians continue to have access to locally grown, high-quality food. For more information about GFB membership or to join, visit www.gfb.org.