From Front Porch to Food Drive
Dunwoody teen collects more than 1,000 pounds of food, partners with Community Assistance Center to expand food collection.
Front Porch Food Drive, an up-and-coming organization started by Dunwoody teen Sarah Menis, recently reached two milestones — collecting more than 1,000 pounds of food for local food pantries and partnering with the Community Assistance Center (CAC) to expand the reach of the food drives’ impact.
Front Porch Food Drive collects non-perishable items directly from people’s homes, making it easy for people to give whatever is in their pantries. Each week, Menis leaves brown grocery bags on neighbors’ front porches with a flyer explaining her mission and a list of the food pantry’s most-needed items. A few days later, she picks up the filled bags and delivers them to CAC.
“At first, I didn’t know how people were going to react to the food drives or if they were going to give, but the response I’ve gotten has been incredible and so overwhelmingly positive. People truly want to give, and they seem really appreciative that I’m providing them with the opportunity to do so.” said Menis.
“This is an incredible story of a teenager seeing a need, asking ‘what can I do about it?’ Then taking concrete action to do it,” shared Francis K. Horton III, CEO of CAC. “Sarah is an example of the incredible resources we have in our community; partnering with her and Front Porch Food Drive helps us meet the increasing needs of our clients.”
As the cost of living increases, CAC and other food pantries are struggling under an increased demand for food. CAC feeds more than 1,000 families a month from three food pantry locations. Last year, they saw a 53 percent increase in clients, with the majority of new clients being employed full-time. CAC’s supplemental food program helps families keep food on the table during a financial crisis and frees up funds in the budget to cover other essentials like insurance. “So many people are in need right now and this is such an easy way to have a huge impact on your community. I’m so excited for this to grow because it’s going to help so many people,” said Menis. Her program will provide the grocery bags and customized flyers to anyone wanting to do their own drive and will coordinate delivery to one of CAC’s food pantries.
Menis and CAC plan to grow the organization through fellow community members doing front porch food drives in neighborhoods throughout Dunwoody, expanding into neighboring Sandy Springs and the Perimeter area.
“I hope to get more volunteers to do food drives in their own neighborhoods so that we can increase the amount of food collected and increase the impact we can have in the community.” said Menis. Through the partnership, high school teens can earn community service hours. All who are interested, from church and temple groups to families with kids, are encouraged to volunteer.
Sarah is a junior at The Galloway School.
If you’re interested in doing a Front Porch Food Drive, email sarahmenis@frontporchfooddrive.com or go to www.frontporchfooddrive.com. Follow Sarah on Instagram at @frontporchfooddrive.
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