Special to the
Opelika Observer

The community is warmly invited to attend an informal open house at the Community Market on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 4-6 p.m.
The Community Market, a program of the Food Bank of East Alabama, provides a friendly grocery-store environment for Lee County families in need. Currently they serve an average of 850 unduplicated families each month.
The Community Marketโ€™s mission statement is โ€œFeeding the hungry of our community by giving the needy access to available food resources.โ€  The Community Market, launched in January 2003, offers client-choice food selection in a grocery store atmosphere at a convenient location on 3810C Pepperell Parkway across from the Farmerโ€™s Market and next door to Rix Appliances.
Every day brings a myriad of stories. Nearly one in five of our neighbors in Lee County (a total of 24,450 people) experiences food insecurity.  From a hungry child who relies on free school lunches for his primary source of food, to a senior on a fixed income to a working family just trying to stretch a thin paycheck until the end of the month, the Community Market strives to feed as many of our neighbors in need as possible.
If youโ€™d like to learn more about what the Community Market does, who they help, the issue of food-insecurity in Lee County, and what you can do to help your neighbors, we invite you to visit the Community Market on Aug. 20.