March 2025 Newsletter:
Spring into Action with THCA
On a cool, windy, rainy day, Team THCA, the teams supporting us, and thousands of others fighting food insecurity in our area walked (or ran) in the Atlanta Community Food Bank Hunger Walk Run. The funds raised for THCA during this event help cover our food purchases at the Food Bank.
Thanks to Team THCA (part of it pictured above) , and teams from Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church (pictured below), Clairmont Presbyterian Church, Hope Xpress Community Church, and Saint Martin Lutheran Church, we are nearly at our goal of $25,000 raised for this year.
And the good news is that you can still participate with us and spring us forward over our goal line! You can help ensure we have enough funds to purchase good, healthy food to overcome food insecurity in our neighborhood. To ensure that
- Families can feed their children – and themselves.
- Seniors can eat nutritiously – and pay for their medicine.
- Those unhoused can have a hot meal – and a bag of food.
- We share food – and hope and compassion – with our neighbors.
- Together, we make difference – and nurture community.
We can take donations through March 31st!
HUGE thanks to all of those who walked for us, and to you all, our amazing community for your continued support. In these uncertain times, it is encouraging to us to be supported as we continue to provide food – and hope – to over 750 families each week!
Even as we are springing forward, right now we are springing forward into an uncertain future, with cuts to some social programs already occurring, and others looming on the horizon as government priorities shift.
The good news for THCA is that very little of our direct funding is government funding. However, our primary partner, where we purchase most of our food, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, reports that they will be losing $15 million of federal funding in the next two years.
One of the programs already cut is one that allowed them to purchase fresh produce from local farmers. We have been recipients of that produce for a very, very low price, and sometimes even free; it is partly responsible for our boxes of food being composed of 40% fresh produce. These cuts will decrease our access to healthy food, and/or increase our costs.
In addition, cuts to social safety programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Progam – what used to be called food stamps), Medicaid, Social Security, and Veterans’ Benefits have been proposed at times. Such cuts will increase food insecurity and the need for our services.
The future is indeed uncertain, but it does appear likely that we will be looking at decreased access to food and increased need for food. Because it is still a bit uncertain at the moment, we will continue to monitor vigilantly.
There may come a point soon in which we will ask for your help as supporters in our community to spring forward into action, to advocate for our neighbors. We may ask you to learn more in-depth about the issues, and then to share with others, to write letters, to call elected officials, to make our voices of empathy and care for our neighbors heard.
I just got back from vacation, visiting family in Hawaii. There, I learned the Hawaiian proverb, “Kokua Aku, Kokua Mai,” meaning. “Help others, be helped.” That sounded like Neighbors Helping Neighbors to me; that in helping others in a mutual way, we are also helping ourselves. By doing what we can for others, we can make a positive impact for all of us.
As we spring forward into the uncertain future, we go together, helping others and helping ourselves, making our neighborhood a place of hope and compassion.
Grateful to be part of this neighborhood with you all,
Rev. Dr. Lisa Heilig,
Executive Director
Current Items Needed
Visit our website to see the most current list of items needed for in-kind donations. A full list of items can be found at the link below!
We can take donations any weekday from 9am to noon.
{Please note: we no longer take clothing items. Clothing can be donated to Giving On the Go. See website at GivingGo.org}
We Accept Stock Gifts
Did you know we can accept stock donations at Toco Hills Community Alliance? Reduce taxes* on capital gains while deducting the fair market value of gifted stock held more than one year. It’s fast, safe and free to donate stock at the link below
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