“This is a big year for us,” Margy McLynn said. She is the executive director of the Duluth Co-op, and she added, “It’s our 30th anniversary. We’ve been celebrating all year.”
There’s a lot for McLynn and her staff at the co-op to celebrate. For 30 years now, the co-op has been helping individuals and families in Duluth in numerous ways.
Bringing community together
As their website says, “The Duluth Co-op brings our community together to provide food, emergency assistance and hope to neighbors in need.”
It’s one of six such co-ops in Gwinnett County.
“All of us were formed at approximately the same time because so many people were knocking on church doors needing help,” McLynn explained. “The pastors got together and decided something needed to be done. So, a group of about 12 churches got together and started the nonprofit.”
Need continues to grow
The Duluth Co-op was small when it first started — it was literally operated out of a closet. It has grown over time, but the need for it really grew during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. And now the community’s need is higher than it’s ever been.
“We had our biggest year last year, serving 20,000 clients,” McLynn said. “Much bigger than 2020, and we’re up 20% again this year.”
New home provides needed space
Another reason for the co-op’s celebration this year is their new location at 3649 Rogers Bridge Road. Formerly located off Buford Highway, the new facility is significantly larger.
“We love our new home,” McLynn said. ”This is our forever home.”
One of the best aspects of their new location is the additional room they now have. There is a volunteer break room as well as a community center for meetings. There’s also lots of storage space for the inventory that the co-op keeps on hand.
Widespread support
The churches involved see the co-op as a way of putting their faith into action. The member churches for the Duluth Co-op are: Duluth First United Methodist, Johns Creek Presbyterian, the Catholic Church of Saint Monica, Mt. Tabor Baptist Church, Old Peachtree Presbyterian, Perimeter Church, Pleasant Hill Presbyterian, Vision Presbyterian Church, Trinity United Methodist, Cornerstone Church, 12Stone Church, First Baptist Church Duluth, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Duluth Seventh-day Adventist.
But as it has grown, the co-op relies on more than just church support.
“We are still supported by churches,” McLynn said, “but we also have a tremendous amount of support from the community and from local business associations. It’s grown to be much bigger. Traditionally, we’ve always relied on our community.”
Another benefit from the move to the new facility is additional community support.
“Since we’ve moved here, we have gotten a great response from the area,” McLynn said. “People are more aware of us and are coming in to volunteer and to donate food.”
She also pointed out the great help they get from the Duluth Police Department, who are currently doing a food drive to gather donations. The police always hold a toy drive in November for the holidays as well.
In addition, the co-op works with other nonprofits for things they can’t provide directly, such as furniture, household items and clothing.
Addressing homelessness and hunger
McLynn explained that the co-op’s mission is to prevent homelessness and hunger. Food assistance is the primary vehicle for that. People are eligible for assistance twice per month. She said the food assistance helps in many ways.
“We hope that people take the money that they save at the grocery store and either save that for a rainy day or put it towards their rent and utilities.”
But if families with children, seniors or disabled people need financial assistance, the co-op is frequently able to provide that as well.
“Our goal,” she said, “is to keep people in their homes because once they become homeless, it’s a much bigger issue.”
Assistance in many forms
And the help extends in other ways as well. The co-op has a job board and hosted a very successful job fair earlier this year. They also offer other instructional opportunities such as budgeting and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes.
“We’re dedicated to building strong families as well as self-sufficiency,” McLynn said. “We want to give them a hand up and help them. We want to make sure that people have the tools that they need to have a successful life.”
Family-oriented programs focus around school and the holidays. Before school starts each year, the co-op gives out backpacks with school supplies. They’re gearing up now for Thanksgiving — where every family gets all the groceries they need for Thanksgiving dinner.
The co-op also has a Christmas shop where parents can shop for their children’s gifts. Everything in the shop is free to those who qualify. And they have a large selection of children’s books year-round.
Volunteers make it all happen
McLynn spoke very highly of the approximately 60 volunteers that make the co-op as successful as it is.
Volunteers at the call center handle the incoming phone calls. Some calls are straightforward, others involve helping people in a crisis situation. This is a very specialized job with a lot of training involved.
The day we were at the facility, Dale and Angela were working on the assembly line where bags are assembled for distribution every day. Each bag contains about 45 pounds of non-perishable food and supplies.
Once people make an appointment to pick up their food, they are met outside by greeters like Allison. Basically, everybody gets the same thing, but any special needs — or adding in any perishable foods and baked goods — are handled on a case-by-case basis by volunteers like Joe.
The volunteers love these positions because they get to interact with the clients.
As Joe said, “Everybody’s happy when we come out.”
With close to 50 families coming in every day that the co-op is open, they go through a lot of food. The organization of all the inventory takes place in the storage area. Charlie is the volunteer inventory supervisor. His military and engineering experience are put to good use in keeping everything organized and fresh.
In addition to the regular volunteers, groups also come in throughout the year to help out. Students from Perimeter School assembled some Thanksgiving bags in October, and the Duluth Rotary Club is scheduled to come in soon to help out.
The assistance works
The best news is that the help the co-op is providing works.
McLynn recalled one of her favorite success stories.
“We had a budgeting class,” she said, “and a woman there said ‘I never knew this. Nobody ever taught me this.’ She put together a two-year plan for her finances and successfully implemented it. She was just delighted that she had gotten the information and support she needed.”
The co-op has lots of opportunities for helping out. Donations of food and funding are always welcome, and there are many volunteer opportunities available as well.
For more information or details on how you can help, visit them online at duluthco-op.org.
