AIB designation means more help for those in need
For more than 30 years, Feeding the Valley has been assisting families in Columbus and in poverty-plagued areas nearby. With the generous help of grocers and other retail donors, as well as food drives by business, civic, school and faith groups, the local affiliate of the 200-member Feeding America is the main source of donated food for more than 240 area agencies. Last year alone, Feeding the Valley distributed more than 7 million pounds of food in its 14-county area.
Help for "food-insecure" families is probably going to get even better. The organization's just-announced seal of approval from AIB International, a Kansas-based food safety nonprofit, should allow Feeding the Valley to provide even more service to the region.
Frank Sheppard, the local agency's executive director, said the AIB designation is "the gold standard in food safety" and could lead to more partnerships with more food vendors.
The need is great. Not only does Feeding the Valley operate food distribution warehouses here and in LaGrange, but it also delivers food around the area, and operates children's nutrition programs such as Kids Café, Summer Café (for when school is out and free or reduced-price lunches aren't available) and a "Buddy Packs" program providing children nourishment over the weekend.
Sheppard gave credit to members of the local Feeding the Valley team for scoring a stellar 955 (1,000 is perfect) on the AIB scale. They deserve it, and a lot of area families will be the better for it.
Civic challenge II
Midtown, Inc. is working with urban designers on plans for the "minimum grid" layout of bicycling and walking trails in Columbus. A grant from the Knight Foundation provided $200,000 in funding for that project, thanks to Midtown director Anne King's entry in last year's Knight Cities Challenge.
The foundation is gearing up for a second round of ideas for making communities better, and a total of $5 million in grants will be distributed to people the Knight judges think have the best ideas. Given the obvious benefit to this community from last year's challenge, we'd urge everybody with an idea to enter.
And it is indeed open to everybody. "This is designed to be a contest for regular people," said Betsy Covington, director of Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, "not for grant writers."
The Knight Foundation, which serves the 26 U.S. cities where the former Knight-Ridder published newspapers, provides more than $100 million in various grants to those communities every year. Information about the Knight Challenge is available online at knightcities.org, where people can also submit entries -- as many as they like.
It has already paid off for Columbus once. No reason to stop there.
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "AIB designation means more help for those in need."