With the holiday season coming up, Roesler wants to increase awareness about the food bank program and what people around the community are experiencing. "We, even as a community, don't want to see people going to work hungry," said Roesler, "and we don't want to see children going to school hungry, because people need food to function."

RER Community Food Bank is Rockdale County's primary food bank with a full-time staff and volunteers from various organizations and religious assemblies who do everything from stocking the food to delivering it. Rockdale County's Emergency Relief Fund program has been helping people in need since 1962, and has been providing members of the community in need with food commodities since 1999.

According to Roesler, the RER Food Bank volume of demands has shot up almost 300 percent. In fact, just four days into the month of September RER Food Bank already served about 50 households and 100 people.

The program was initially designed to be a supplemental program to serve a 100 families per month. But in recent months, RER Food Bank has been faced with having to serve a 100 families per week. Although food commodities are the food bank's primary resource, RER Food Bank does accept cash donations as well.
Roesler said she considers the food bank to be a great and successful program that shows how supportive the community is. Even with the shortage, RER Food Bank is still providing food at the same rate and making sure everyone is served. And Roesler is determined to do just that.

"We don't want our community to go hungry," she said. "One of the best parts of working in Rockdale is knowing that this community really cares about its neighbors and friends if it's going to get done, it's going to get done here in Rockdale."