Dispelling the Myths of Hunger: The Atlanta Community Food Bank and Collins Memorial UMC

Our group worked with the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) on their campaign to showcase the work of their partner agency Collins Memorial United Methodist Church (Collins Memorial UMC) through utilizing social media. We assisted ACFB in this endeavor by creating a short video which will be featured on the ACFB website and YouTube channel. We also created a sustainability plan booklet so that the project could be duplicated to showcase other partnerships. During the month of January, we researched the area of Bolton Road where distribution takes place and performed windshield and walking tours to have a deeper understanding of the need of fresh food supply in the community. Additionally, our student group volunteered to assist in distributing food to over 300 people weekly at the food pantry from the end of January 2013 through April 2013. On distribution days, we met with volunteers and clients and gained knowledge about the history of the area from formal and informal interviews. In April, we spent much of our time editing our final video and creating a sustainability plan. Our work with Collins Memorial UMC helped to identify the common interests of the community and key stakeholders: to end hunger and food insecurity. The utilization of social media will help the ACFB disseminate that message that hunger is a prevalent social issue which affects varying classes and populations, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or gender, available to a wide audience