'Links of Love' donates 2 tons of food to hungry Atlantans
ATLANTA - The pandemic has exposed a lot about food insecurity in America. In Georgia, at least 13 percent of people have to choose between buying food and paying bills.
Kiolbassa Smoked Meats is doing something about it. The Texas-based company makes food specifically for food banks. It’s called Links of Love and Atlanta has benefited from this generosity.
At the end of last yearm Links of Love donated two tons of food to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. That’s almost 25,000 servings of food to those in need.
Look at the food bank’s numbers: one in seven children will go hungry tonight which translates into 715,000 people who are food insecure. That’s one in eight people we are talking about.
Michael Kiolbassa and his crew make and donate 10,000 pounds nationwide a month.
"We all know there are ups and downs in every family, in every business. We all need help. None of us get through this on our own. If we think we do, we are fooling ourselves. And so, just being able to help out in our little way … I tell ya I have had to count on help over the years myself and our business, ya know. We are all in this together."
Amen to that. These are good items to donate. You want shelf-stable, non-perishable foods like peanut butter. Offer up canned food. And that can mean soup, meats and fruit. Additionally, whole grain pasta and brown rice are always needed.
It’s easy. Every shopping trip, pick up an extra item or two. Put it aside until you get a nice big box then make a delivery to your favorite pantry.
Do not donate bakery items or other fresh foods. Do not drop your expired food. And while many people are well-meaning, they can't accept your dinner leftovers.