Hello ASG Friends,

A Simple Gesture just hit another huge milestone. Since 2015, we've collected 5 million meals for those facing hunger in Guilford County! You read that right, 5 million! And it's all thanks to the amazing support of our green bag food donors, food recovery partners, drivers and other volunteers, financial supporters, and ASG friends. Your commitment and compassion demonstrate how much you care about your neighbors, and it fills my heart with joy!

Our partner food pantries continue to report steady increases in the need for food. Working families are finding that their paychecks just don't stretch far enough to cover the high price of food, and they're finding themselves using a food pantry for the first time to make ends meet.

Thank you for continuing to fill your green bag, for spreading the word about food recovery, for volunteering to be a driver, and for helping in any way you can to make sure children and families get the nutritious meals they need. Together, we’re making a major impact!

Happy fall, y'all!

PS: Did you know that many companies match their employees’ donations to our organization? If you're not sure if your company does matching gifts, contact your HR department. Some of the local companies that do include Bank of America, Duke Energy, Verizon, Proctor & Gamble, and many more. Check out the list here.

We are so pleased to add new partners to our list. We're looking forward to working with:

• Guilford Backpack, which started in 2010 and serves 13 schools and 400 children in the northern part of Guilford County, providing backpack meals and emergency food.
• Jewish Family Services, a long-term partner for nonperishable food and now a new partner for food recovery.
• Mustard Seed Community Health, also a new food recovery partner. Mustard Seed provides low-cost healthcare for the uninsured and underserved.
• Islamic Center of Greensboro, a new food recovery partner working to expand their food pantry.
• Four new Sheetz locations, which will be donating short-dated and excess food to ensure it goes to feeding people instead of getting thrown away.
• The Miriam P. Brenner Children's Museum in Greensboro, which will be donating fresh produce from their garden to our food recovery program.

Exciting Events Ahead: A Simple Gesture and Junior League of Greensboro Are Partners!

A Simple Gesture and the Junior League of Greensboro have big plans in the year to come. This year the Junior League is focusing on the topic of food insecurity. Junior League members will be doing green bag pickups (they've already started!), hosting green bag signups and food collections, featuring the topic of hunger in their Women to Watch series, and much more.

Here's what's coming up:

• The Women to Watch series will kick off with "The Journey of the Green Bag," to be held on Wednesday, September 25, at 6:30 pm at the Hege Library at Guilford College. The public is invited and the event is free.
• Touch-a-Truck will be Sunday, October 20, from noon to 4 pm at the Volvo Group Campus (7900 National Service Road, Greensboro, NC 27409). Touch-a-Truck is a fun family festival that offers an interactive, hands-on learning experience. A Simple Gesture will be there to spread the word about our green bag, food recovery, and SHARE programs.
• On October 23, the second Women to Watch event will feature an interactive poverty simulation with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, also at Hege Library at 6:30 pm. The public is invited and the event is free.

Want to attend? Contact us at asimplegesturegso@gmail.com.

When I got to the top of the stairs I saw a group of four young children with a plastic bowling set. They were setting up the pins, rolling the ball across the hallway, and laughing.

The food donor whose apartment I was headed to didn't have their bag out, so I started chatting with the kids about their bowling game. The mom across the hall heard us and peeked out the door. She saw my green ASG t-shirt and the empty green bag in my hand and asked, "Are you with the Girl Scouts?" I explained what I was doing and that I'd stopped by to pick up her neighbor's bag. The mom said, "I can fill a bag for you!" She took the empty bag, went into her kitchen, and in just a few minutes filled it with items from her cabinets. What a spontaneous and wonderful gesture!

Wyndham Wow: Food Recovery Success

As world-class golfers wrap up the Wyndham golf tournament and fans pack up to go home, they leave one thing behind: excess food. Every year on the Monday after the Wyndham, A Simple Gesture's Food Recovery Program heads to the golf course to distribute wholesome leftover food to local nonprofits. This year, nine nonprofits received over 7,200 pounds of much-needed food. We appreciate the Wyndham's continuing commitment to ensuring that food goes to neighbors in need!

Sending extra-special thank-yous to:

• Sister Circle, which provided drivers for our August monthly pickup. What a great way for the group to serve together and support the community! A special shout-out to Justine for taking charge of the event.
• All-a-Flutter Butterfly Farm for hosting A Simple Gesture at the farm during Hunger Awareness Month. It turns out butterflies love green bags and t-shirts!
• Hawthorne Residential Partners, Rooted City Fellowship, and Word of Life Church, who hosted very successful food drives, helping to keep pantries stocked during the summer when donations tend to go down.
• Realtors Mike and Bethany Fields, who hosted a Guilford Hills Park Party and included a canned food drive.
• Hamilton Village, which welcomed A Simple Gesture to their 50th anniversary celebration, and the High Point Elks, who hosted us for an afternoon of green bag signups at their pool.
• Caring Hands, which chose A Simple Gesture as their project in July. They collected food and helped spread the word about ASG!
• Fastenal, for selecting A Simple Gesture to receive a BK 5K Youth Fund Grant.
• Westover Church, for committing to two years of support for ASG and continuing to be our valued food collection partners.
• The Page High School Volleyball Team for volunteering together to unload cars and green bags for our September East Greensboro pickup.
• The High Point Arts Council, for inviting us to let folks know about our programs during their summer concert series.
• Lincoln Financial, for their generous continued support of our programs.
• YOU, for filling a green bag, doing food recovery, volunteering to drive, sorting food as it's delivered, making a financial gift, liking our social media, decreasing food waste at home, and telling your neighbors about A Simple Gesture. Thank you for being part of the ASG community!

From Our Sustainers: Be a Hero for Hunger



"I just had a baby, and it's harder to get to the grocery store to fill my green bag now. So I switched to making a monthly financial gift. I can still support local food pantries while simplifying my life. It works out great!" — Anonymous financial donor

Thank you to this donor and to all of our monthly sustainers. A gift in any amount — $10, $20, $50, $100 — each month is a huge help to us.

Birthday Party Recap: Oh, What a Night!

Our ninth birthday party was a smashing success! So many friends came out to celebrate, and we couldn't be more grateful.

Missed the party? It's not too late to send a birthday gift to ASG! Give via Venmo @ASimpleGesture or click below.