Gratefull food drive collects 3,416 pounds of food; everything collected will remain in Whitfield County

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·3 min read

Nov. 28—Dalton-area residents once again stepped up to help the community on Monday through the Gratefull Dalton Give Back food drive.

"We were thrilled again with the outcome," said Allyson Coker, project manager for Believe Greater Dalton, which organized the event. "We collected 3,416 pounds of food and with the additional monetary donations the total represents 11,216 meals distributed here in Whitfield County."

The food drive took place in downtown Dalton underneath the city parking deck next to the Burr Performing Arts Park. It was spearheaded by Believe Greater Dalton, a Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce-led effort to improve the community.

Melanie Hammontree, director of development for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, said everything collected on Monday will remain in Whitfield County, distributed to the food bank's 35 local partners.

Hammontree said even though the economy has bounced back after last year's COVID-19-pandemic-related shutdowns there is still a strong need for aid.

This was the second year Believe Greater Dalton organized a food drive on the Monday before Thanksgiving.

In 2019, more than 1,400 people gathered on Hamilton Street downtown for Gratefull Dalton, a community meal complete with turkey and dressing and plenty of new friendships.

Organizers hoped Gratefull Dalton would become an annual event but in 2020 Believe Greater Dalton decided not to hold Gratefull because of the pandemic. Instead, it held a drive-thru food drive for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, which serves 20 counties including Whitfield and Murray. Coker said after looking at the local COVID-19 numbers recently they decided to put Gratefull on hold for another year.

She said for the second year in a row North Georgia EMC (Electric Membership Corp.) "did so much."

"Last year, they brought a truckload full of food they had collected, and this year it was a truckload plus a van-load," Coker said. "One of the Shaw Industries plants had a significant amount of food collected."

She said the Fighting Mongooses robotics team from Southeast Whitfield High School also "came in big."

"They did an amazing job collecting food," she said.

Coker said organizers are still hopeful they can resume the community meal in 2022.

"While we plan to proceed with hosting the community meal next year, the Give Back will also remain a component of the event for Dalton moving forward," she said. "After two years working together with the great people here locally at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, we have got a great system in place for this event. And it's a perfect addition to Gratefull to help our community at large knowing these agencies always need food."

Coker said organizers will likely look for some way "to create competition among local businesses to see who can collect the most food."

Believe Greater Dalton hired a disc jockey to play music on the Burr Performing Arts Park stage. Their plan was individuals and families to picnic on the green at the park in lieu of the community meal but few people showed up for that portion of the event.

"It was cold and not a good day for a picnic, but it was another great day for Dalton," Coker said. "Our team is very thankful for the way the community has embraced and supported the 'pandemic pivot' these past two years."