It was during COVID-19, and many were sheltering at home but wanted to help in some way. Marcy Louza and Lisa Hiles decided to make sandwiches to help those who were struggling with food insecurity. Little did they know, the grassroots effort would outlast the pandemic.
Marcy says it was a combination of good-hearted people that wanted to do something during the pandemic to help, combined with the fact that many people were working from home that they created The Sandwich Project. “Personally, I’ve always believed that every human being deserves to have fresh food, and the amount that’s needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle,” Marcy says. “So I feel that we really put our heart into it.” The organization's growth was driven through social media.
With the end of the pandemic, Marcy says they thought requests for sandwiches would drop off, but that’s not the case. “The people who need food are in our community, but they’re not always our neighbors, so we want people to understand the need that’s out there. And honestly, right now with the price of food rising, we’ve had more requests than ever,” she says.
The nonprofit organization has volunteers and groups, corporations, and organizations, working throughout the metro Atlanta area making sandwiches that are distributed each week via a number of charitable organizations in the metro Atlanta area. Marcy says the variety of sandwiches includes ham, turkey and peanut butter, along with fresh fruit and protein bars. Marcy says they always reached their goal when it comes to the number of sandwiches each week, and any leftover are distributed to a number of local charitable organizations with ongoing needs, including St. Vincent de Paul in Chamblee.
Once the sandwiches are made, the sandwiches, fresh fruits and other items are distributed. “Many of the people receiving this don’t have very good health care coverage and some are suffering from illnesses, so they’re more susceptible to bacteria,” Marcy says, adding that they are very diligent about safety when it comes to handling and distributing the food. Sandwiches are kept refrigerated and the organization has a refrigerated truck for making deliveries.
The Sandwich Project received an innovation grant from the Jewish Federation. Other funds come from corporate, organization, and individual donations. Groups and organizations that make the sandwiches donate the food and items, as well as the time and manpower they spend to make the sandwiches.
Marcy says it’s important that recipients know that the food was prepared with love, so note cards may be included. “Kids who are too young to make sandwiches will make note cards,” she says. “They might say ‘Have a great day’ or ‘Enjoy your sandwich.’” And Marcy says one of the biggest things they’ve received feedback on from the recipient organizations is that the people who received the food say they feel loved and cared for.
And they don’t stop at food. They see a need and try to fill that need. For example, during the winter they held a winter coat drive. And when a student mentioned not being able take a class because they needed an expensive calculator that the student couldn’t afford, Marcy said they asked around and got the calculators the students needed.
“I’ve met the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life,” Marcy says, talking about the people she encounters because of The Sandwich Project. “The cumulative effect of this is what’s really been surprising and pleasing to me. When everyone comes together…I think we could really decrease the amount of food insecurity in Georgia pretty fast.”
For more information about The Sandwich Project, visit the sandwichproject.org.
"...every human being deserves to have fresh food." Marcy Louza, co-founder