By October of last year, the nonprofit was feeding people six times a month.
"The need was so great and people were so hungry," Vanderheyden said.
On the heels of its first anniversary, Forever Fed has already surpassed the number of meals it will serve this year.
By the end of 2010, the organization served about 4,000 meals. So far this year, it has served about 6,000 meals.
Vanderheyden said she's expecting to serve between 12,000 and 15,000 meals this year.
Forever Fed is a mobile food ministry that serves nutritious meals to needy families.
Volunteers prepare food at its kitchen at The Edge Connection near Kennesaw State University and use a 14-foot box truck to take the food into impoverished neighborhoods.
The operation mostly sets up in church parking lots, but also serves neighborhoods in Woodstock and Canton.
The "well-rounded" meals include a protein, fresh produce and a healthy dessert, Vanderheyden said.
When she started her operations, Vanderheyden did not expect to get see the numbers she and her volunteers are seeing.
She said she's "pretty much heartbroken" about what she and volunteers encounter when they go into neighborhoods.
For example, she said children often get excited whenever they are given a fresh apple.
She also said many of the recipients usually don't make eye contact and hang their heads in shame during the first few times.
"There's a huge amount of shame involved in getting a free meal," she said.
The bulk of Forever Fed's clientele are students who receive free or reduced with the Cherokee County School District.
According to district spokesperson Barbara Jacoby, 30.5 percent of its 38,000-plus student body receives free or reduced lunch.
Food insecurity continues to remain on the radar of public health officials.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, nearly 16 percent of households with children are deemed "food insure," meaning they had inconsistent access to quality food throughout a given year.
Nearly 50.2 million people in 2009 lived in food insecure households, including 17.2 children.
Vanderheyden said there's so little attention to hunger and food insecurity because those who are suffering tend to be "marginalized."
She noted that if many families worked minimum wage jobs, "it's nearly impossible to make it." She said many families have to juggle bills and daycare costs, leaving little money to purchase healthy food.
She also said there's so much "shame" in receiving help that many families avoid getting the help they need.
Forever Fed volunteer Lorraine Rose, who has helped the organization for the past six months, added she's found it "shocking" to see hunger go unmentioned in a county that has numerous nice houses and cars.
"I can't understand that mentality," she said, adding local food pantries should be "bursting at the seams" with food and volunteers.
While she did note many people who are successful are indeed struggling to pay their own bills, she said many people choose to ignore hunger instead of choosing to volunteer their time.
Marie Alexander, ministry director of Kids' Bible Club, said the nonprofit comes as a blessing to many families who already struggle to make ends meet.
Kids' Bible Club is a Woodstock-based ministry for children who don't attend church regularly. About 150 children affiliated with the club get their meals from Forever Fed.
Alexander said organizations like Forever Fed are "really meeting a need in the community" with their operations.
Vanderheyden has lived in Woodstock for about 10 years. She has volunteered her time with MUST Ministries and First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
Vanderheyden, 48, is a retired nurse. She and her husband Bob have three children. They attend Liberty Hill United Methodist Church in Canton.
Vanderheyden said she believes it's her "God given responsibility to see the need and respond to the need" in her efforts with the nonprofit.
She also said she hopes to see more people donate their time and efforts to help Forever Fed bring healthy, nutritious meals to the less fortunate.
"Children don't have a voice," she said. "If there's a hungry child who needs to be fed and if I have to feed 1,000 adults to reach that one child, then I will do that," she said.
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