MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — We asked and you answered. WKRG News 5 teamed up with Feeding the Gulf Coast to help provide meals for children during the summer months. On Monday, we’re collecting the donations you made at our partner locations across the Gulf Coast for our first Stock the Pantry food drive.

Together, we raised 12,549 pounds of food. That is more than 10,000 meals.

One in six people, including one in four children, are food insecure along the central Gulf Coast. That’s more than 350,000 people, more than the total population of Mobile. 101,250 of them are children. The need for food is even more acute for children during the summer months when they no longer have access to meals at school.

With you’re help, we are bridging the gap. Thank you for all of your contributions. And remember, you can always make a difference by donating to Feeding the Gulf Coast.

Feeding the Gulf Coast: Who they are

Mission: Feeding the Gulf Coast works through member organizations and special programs to provide nutritious food to meet the challenge of feeding people who are hungry as a result of systemic poverty, personal crisis or disaster. We also educate the public regarding domestic hunger, proper nutrition and other related issues.

About: Feeding the Gulf Coast, formerly Bay Area Food Bank, serves a 24-county area spanning the Florida panhandle, south Alabama, and south Mississippi.

In 2021, the food bank distributed more than 27.5 million meals including supplies to over 400 community partners, including church pantries, soup kitchens, child nutrition sites and other nonprofit organizations throughout its service area. The food bank also operates multiple hunger-relief and nutrition programs, including Summer Meals, Afterschool Meal, Backpack, Disaster Relief, Mobile Pantry and Produce Drop Distributions and Nutrition Education. Feeding the Gulf Coast is a United Way member agency and a member of Feeding America.

For every dollar donated, 5 meals are generated for those in need.

Partners: Feeding the Gulf Coast partners with more than 400 agencies across the three states they serve. For a full list of partners, visit FeedingtheGulfCoast.org/find-help and use a Find A Pantry feature.

2021 Program Stats: Ensured more than 14,000 children had access to meals. Provided nearly 1,667,900 meals and snacks to children and 72,943 backpacks.