BY MICHELLE KEY
PUBLISHER
AUBURN — Community leaders and faith representatives gathered Tuesday, Jan. 6, to dedicate the new Community Market of East Alabama facility, celebrating years of volunteer service and expanded capacity to feed families in Lee County.
Steve Reeves, president of the board of directors of the East Alabama Food Bank, opened the ceremony by thanking donors, the capital campaign committee and partner Baily Harris for helping bring the project to completion. He also praised the project team and staff for preparing the market to open to the public Saturday morning.
Former Auburn Mayor Jan Dempsey, recognized for her longstanding role in the Market’s history, highlighted the community’s sustained support since the Market’s inception and applauded the volunteers she called “the heart and soul of the Community Market.”
“This new building is not only a place where we’ll do more to touch lives,” Dempsey said, “it’s a celebration of all the work that brought us here — not just giving food to those in need, but giving a smile, encouragement and a helping hand.”
Dempsey traced the Market’s origins to an effort more than two decades ago to coordinate hunger relief across Lee County, emphasizing the Market’s client-choice model that allows families to select items that fit their needs — a departure from standardized food boxes.
She also credited the decision to anchor the Community Market within the Food Bank’s mission — while maintaining independent fundraising and budgeting — as pivotal to its growth. Dempsey singled out longtime leader Martha Hink for day-to-day oversight that “made all the difference” in the Market’s operations.
The dedication included an interfaith blessing invoking Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, with speakers calling the Market a “sanctuary of dignity” where “hunger meets compassion and need meets hope.” The blessing offered thanks for the Earth’s bounty, honored volunteers and donors and dedicated “these shelves, these hands, these resources” to the work ahead.
Reeves closed by thanking staff and supporters for their “strong support for the success and work of the Community Market,” noting the facility’s opening marks a new chapter in service to neighbors facing food insecurity.
