The Equal Justice Initiativeand its founder, Bryan Stevenson, are partnering with Food Bank of East Alabama.
“We are thrilled to death,” said Martha Henk, executive director of FBEA. “I have long been an admirer of the Equal Justice Initiative and specifically Bryan Stevenson, so I really consider this a huge honor.”
The Equal Justice Initiative was founded in 1989 by Stevenson, a Harvard-trained attorney, social justice activist and author, as a way to provide legal representation to the poor and people who are wrongly accused, convicted, sentenced or imprisoned in the criminal legal system. It is based in Montgomery.
Stevenson is the author of “Just Mercy,” which tells the story of one of his first cases, in which he defended a man sentenced to death for a murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The book was made into a film in 2019 starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson.
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After one of his attorneys visited the Food Bank of East Alabama, Stevenson sent a letter to Henk saying he’d like to partner with the food bank and donate $50,000.
“I’m grateful for all that you and the Food Bank of East Alabama do for the community,” Stevenson wrote. “I’m especially impressed by your work to provide food to community members and residents in need.
“I know that you are seeing high demand and have no doubt that inflation has aggravated food insecurity for many families that you know and serve,” he continued. “We want to partner with organizations on the frontlines assisting the poor around hunger and to that end want to support your efforts.”
The Food Bank of East Alabama, a United Way agency, serves seven counties in Alabama. Lee County is the largest out of the seven and has the largest number of people experiencing food insecurity.
Alabama has the fifth-highest rate of hunger in the country, according to Feeding America.
Within Lee, Russell, Macon, Tallapoosa, Chambers, Barbour and Randolph counties, Henk said about 58,000 people are food insecure.
With the $50,000 donation, Henk said, the food bank plans to advance its work in alignment with the mission of the Equal Justice Initiative.
“One of the things that I was so struck by was Mr. Stevenson’s comment that fighting hunger is an extension of their justice work,” Henk said.
Currently the food bank sponsors backpack programs in 13 schools, which provides elementary-aged children with a bag of nutritionally balanced food every Friday during the school year.
With this donation, Henk said they hope to sponsor an additional school for a two-year commitment.
The food bank also plans to use the funds in its Mobile Food Pantry program, developing a new community market in Opelika and working with agencies that reach parolees and provide food for them.
“There’s a strong connection between justice and hope,” Henk said. “One of the things that we find is that there’s often a sense of despair for people that just don’t have enough food or have low resources. Food is such a simple thing, but it can play a huge role in bringing hope to somebody who feels hopeless.”
