AMAZING GRACE

IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, VOLUNTEERS JOIN TOGETHER TO FACE THE PANDEMIC WITH LOVE.

- 

WHEN RETIREE ERIC CALHOUN FOUNDED HIS NONPROFIT, SOLUTIONS INC., IN 2008, HE SET OUT TO AID HIS COMMUNITY in any way possible. The organization has helped with everything from advocating for ex-prisoners’ voting rights to increasing local students’ access to arts. And in May 2020 they added another service: feeding a community in need during a global pandemic.

Last spring, Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales approached Eric with the opportunity to partner with Forestwood Farm Inc., one of Alabama’s largest produce distributors. Together, through the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program, they would deliver 20-pound boxes of fresh produce to local residents.