The cost of groceries remains high, and a metro Atlanta nonprofit says the demographic of those relying on food pantries is changing
Reflections of Trinity in Hiram said in 2025 they served just under 3 million pounds of food to people across 77 Georgia counties and some outside of Georgia
Carol Reed has spent the past four months volunteering for Reflections of Trinity
“I come in at 8:30, and I leave at noon,” Reed said. “You know that’s a good workout for me.”
CBS Atlanta spoke to Reed while she was volunteering on a Tuesday. She loves Tuesdays because the food she and other volunteers pack up goes to senior citizens
“Since I’m one myself, and I have plenty of food. There’s so many. Look at the people that don’t from the amount of boxes we have,” Reed said. “A lot of people don’t have food. They just don’t.”
CBS News Atlanta
The number of people in Georgia facing food insecurity has been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic
According to Feeding America, more than 1.2 million people in Georgia experienced food insecurity in 2019. The numbers improved in 2020 and 2021, but by 2023 more than 1.6 million people in Georgia were facing food insecurity
Reflections of Trinity Founder Laurie Ann Wong-Burns said around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were serving 1,000 families a week, but that number has gone up
“We’re up to 1,300 families a week, so it’s just steadily increased since 2022,” Wong-Burns said
She said rising costs are adding to additional financial strains
“Housing has gone up, so has fuel, so it’s like a trifecta, and a lot of times people’s wages haven’t gone up, so that’s where food pantries come in,” Wong-Burns said
She said partnerships with metro Atlanta businesses help them get the job done
“We can’t do it without them,” Wong-Burns said. “Not for the volume of food we move every week.”
One of those partners is Wellstar Health System
“If you don’t have nutritious food, that can lead to chronic disease like hypertension and diabetes,” said Wellstar’s Assistant Vice President of Community Health Elise Lockamy-Kassim. “And so, although we’re a health system that serves those needs, we want to prevent people from coming through our doors with those needs.”
Wellstar donated a van to the nonprofit in 2025 to help Reflections of Trinity further its mission
“To know that we are a part of this large vision that Reflections of Trinity has to serve even more people, oh, that makes it all worthwhile,” Lockamy-Kassim said
Linda Riddle is one of the seniors who receives a box of food every Tuesday
“It helps me a lot because, you know, I only get a minimum of food stamps, so I run out of a lot of things like milk and fruits and whatever else that’s in the box,” Riddle said
Her grocery budget is tight
“I have to have them to keep a tab of what I’m spending, and just a little bit of groceries it gets so, so much,” Riddle said
Mildren Williams is another senior who receives food from Reflections of Trinity. Her grocery budget is tight too
“Heart trouble, diabetes, it all costs money, and this insurance I have is… I got in more debt this year with sickness and medication, and it’s a blessing for me to get this extra, and I appreciate it very much,” Williams said
Wong-Burns said they also rely heavily on volunteers and have about 200 to 250 volunteers each week.
