Food festival supports local charities

Summer is the season of festivals across Atlanta. In Sandy Springs, Food That Rocks recently brought together the city’s restaurants, culinary community and local entertainment all to benefit three local nonprofits. Started by Dale Gordon DeSena, the founder of Taste of Atlanta, the festival was a way for DeSena to, “create an event that would not only showcase our thriving community, but I wanted to give back to the local charities who serve our residents,” she said. DeSena is a resident of Sandy Springs. This year, the festival supported Second Helpings Atlanta, The Drake House and Community Assistance Center. Two of the charities chosen — Second Helpings Atlanta and Community Assistance Center — are connected with food and food insecurity. Both organizations offer food assistance to families in Sandy Springs. “SHA focuses on rescuing highly nutritious perishable and prepared food, and delivering it to our network of over 40 partner agencies who feed the hungry every day. The types of food we rescue are typically not available to many of the clients of our partner agencies because they live in “food deserts.” All food is donated free of charge, so money our partner agencies previously spent on groceries can be used to provide more services to their clients, enabling them to have a bigger impact in the community without having to raise additional funds,” said Joe Labriola, executive director of SHA. SHA started as a social action committee at Temple Sinai in Sandy Springs in 2004 and became a nonprofit in January 2013. Since then, it has rescued eight million pounds of food, enough to provide more than six million meals to those in need. CAC supports the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody communities and provides assistance to those in need by providing financial support, helping to meet basic needs and promoting self-reliance. The third charity, The Drake House, offers housing and support for homeless single mothers in North Atlanta. Its educational, empowerment and mentoring programs assist families in becoming financially self-sufficient and contribut- ing members of the community. It is the only agency in the area offering an emergency residential program with private housing, serving approximately 50 families with 100 children per year. “As a mother myself, and working with a staff of mostly women, we also want to support fellow women, moms and children,” DeSena added. Started in 2013, the event has become a staple in the Sandy Springs community, and building relationships between the community, restaurants and charities was the goal DeSena hoped to achieve.

CONTRIBUTED Second Helpings Atlanta volunteers represented the organization at Food That Rocks held in Sandy Springs on June 9. The local food festival supports three local charities.