Dog Days and Good Neighbors
July 2026
The Dog Days of Summer are here, running from July 3 to August 11, bringing the hottest days of the year.
The phrase comes from the alignment of Sirius, the “Dog Star,” with the sun, but this year, it has me thinking about a different kind of dog day:
the joy of seeing our furry neighbors roll through with their families coming to Toco Hills Community Alliance for food.
Many of our neighbors bring the whole family when they come by for groceries, including the four-legged members who greet us with wagging tails and plenty of kisses. In the middle of the heat, those little moments of sweetness are a welcome reminder of why this work matters:
we are caring for households, not just handing out food.
So, thank you to the pups who give us a smile during these Dog Days of summer and thank you to the people who make sure those families have food on the table.
Your donations, both food and financial gifts, have helped sustain our neighbors through a demanding summer. Because of your generosity, families can come to us once a week for groceries that include dry goods, frozen meat, fresh produce, dairy items, bread, and other staples.
And what we do is about more than food.
It is general health.
It is a mental health check-in.
It is the relief of knowing that, for one more week,
a parent, senior, veteran, or neighbor
facing a hard season has one less thing to worry about.
With half the year behind us, we are on track to distribute
more than 1.5 million pounds of food in 2026.
That number is big, but behind every pound is
a person,
a family,
a story, and
a community choosing to show up for one another.
This July, please share what Toco Hills Community Alliance does. Someone you know may need our services, and someone you know may be looking for a meaningful way to help us provide more
- Follow, like, and share THCA on Facebook and Instagram
- Keep up with, refer to, and share link to THCA Website
- Tell others about what we do. Link to one page info sheet
If you have not already looked at the 2025 Annual Report, please take a moment to see what your support has accomplished. Thank you for helping us feed hope, nurture lives, and build a stronger community — even, maybe especially, in the hot and hazy Dog Days of summer.
We are so very grateful for all of you. It is only because of you, our supporters, and our community, that we can share food and so much more – in the Dog Days of summer and all year around.
Because of your generous support, together, we continue to work to overcome food insecurity in our neighborhood as Neighbors Helping Neighbors.
Gratefully,
Rev. Dr. Lisa Heilig
Executive Director
During the school year, Clairmont Presbyterian Church hosts an afterschool program. One day a week we take our van over with about 20 boxes of food so families can pick up their kids and food all in one stop.
The program went so well this past school year that the families asked for us to continue during the summer! This is where Toco2Go began.
We are so grateful to Clairmont for hosting this Toco2Go location and providing space, and also for the hospitality they continue to show us.
Lookout for an ADDITIONAL Toco2Go location by the end of summer!!!
If you ever wonder what food and supply items we need most at THCA, we keep an updated list on our website. Food items need to be unopened. But, canned or boxed items can be accepted up to 6 months past the “Best By”date. We can also accept unopened frozen food items.
We are so grateful for the individuals, businesses, and faith communities who have been helping to sustain us through this summer when there has been low inventory at Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Because it has been so hot and we will be in for more heat before summer is over, one of our highest priorities now is sports drink – Gatorade, Powerade, etc.
Thank you all so much!
Copyright © 2026 Toco Hills Community Alliance, All rights reserved.
Our physical address is:
1790 Lavista Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
Our mailing address is:
2897 North Druid Hills Rd., #115
Atlanta, GA 30329
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