Marietta Banks Double Donations to Fight Child Hunger

When Marietta residents donated to fight child hunger, two local foundations stepped up to double every dollar they gave.

The Peoples Bank Foundation and Marietta Community Foundation each contributed $5,000 to GoPacks, a nonprofit working to end food insecurity for local families. Together, they matched the full amount raised during GoPacks' "Independence from Food Insecurity" campaign.

GoPacks serves children who might otherwise go hungry when school meals aren't available. The organization distributes healthy food and runs workshops that help families build long-term food security.

Jessica Daye, branch manager at Peoples Bank's Putnam Street location, said the matching gift amplifies what neighbors are already doing for each other. "The community shows up and gives, and the fact that Peoples Bank was able to double everyone's donation and their impact has just been fantastic," she said.

The decision to support GoPacks connects to a simple but urgent reality. Kids who don't have enough to eat struggle to learn and grow. Daye emphasized that GoPacks does the frontline work "helping our kids in our local area to make sure that they're getting the food that they need so that they can learn and grow and really thrive in the community."

The Ripple Effect

When one person donates $10 to feed a hungry child, and two foundations match it, that $10 becomes $30. That's the power of matching campaigns: they don't just raise money, they prove that individual actions matter.

GoPacks Executive Director Heather Warner says community support like this means everything to their mission. The matched funds will purchase and distribute nutritious food while expanding classes that teach families how to stretch food budgets and access resources.

This kind of collaboration shows what's possible when businesses, foundations, and individuals all pull in the same direction. In Marietta, that direction points toward a future where no child goes to bed hungry.