HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A virtual country music concert on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m.will benefit the Food Bank of North Alabama.
Husband/wife musical duo The Springs brought together Alabama artists Marty Raybon of Shenandoah, Ty Herndon, Tiera, and Glen Templeton for this virtual event.
The show is free, but people can donate to the Food Bank of North Alabama if they'd like. The money raised will allow the Food Bank of North Alabama to help thousands who need extra help during the holiday season.
Bobby Bozeman, Development Director with Food Bank of North Alabama explained, “We’ve done about 1 million pounds of food a month during the pandemic.”
Bozeman says the organization distributed around 12 million pounds of food from September 2019 to September 2020.
Demand for food has been high during the pandemic, and the list of names needing assistance is just getting longer. Many people are receiving food assistance for the first time.
Bozeman tells us, “We saw a lot of the hospitality workers, especially during the late part of spring. We actually did a distribution of produce specifically for affected hospitality workers.”
The food bank faced some obstacles early on. He adds, “When we first started, we were dealing with a lot of supply chain issues. You may remember going to the grocery store and not seeing a lof of things there, especially in March and April. That was something we were dealing with.”
But, they had to quickly adapt to meet the need.
Bozeman says, “Our emergency food boxes and distributions… the drive thru food model is really easy and convenient for people who have never had to navigate this before. We also offer snap application assistance. You know, the SNAP application form can be very complicated. So, anyone who needs help with their SNAP application can call us.
The bigger load has had to be carried by fewer hands.
Bozeman explains, “We’ve had to cut back on volunteer opportunities during the early stages of the pandemic.”
They’re hoping to increase volunteer opportunities within the next few months.
And we’re told their food supply is slowly getting back to normal levels.
You can drop off food donations at the front of the building in the blue donation bin. The food bank is also in need of non-food items like diapers, which we're told is their most requested item.
The Food Bank of North Alabama warehouse building is located at 2000 B Vernon Ave Huntsville, AL.
