Many area families in need ahead of food drive
NEW BERN, Craven County — The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina along with News Channel 12 are having a week-long Feeding E-N-C food drive Monday through Friday (June 21-25).
Someone from News Channel 12 will be at food bank locations each day of the week to help stop hunger across the region.
The food bank serves over 150,000 food insecure people per year, and donations help supply more than 200 food pantries over the summer.
“Crucial - crucial because since we started, every six months we have a group that doesn’t even know we are there, and they are in need, “ said Tyietha Frazier, founder of Angels on the Move.
“Covid stopped a lot of people from working so the demand as gotten worse.”
Angels on the Move is one of those ENC food pantries that the Central and Eastern North Carolina Food bank serves in Harlowe.
George Young, Eastern Regional Director of the Food Bank of Eastern NC also said the pandemic has hurt families by prices of foods going up.
“It’s a financial situation where I may be working two or three part times jobs I may have three kids in my household, I may be struggling to make choices of getting my car fixed to get to work, paying rent, or if I’m a senior, paying medical bills. If we can fill in gaps by providing meals and help people stretch their budget, that’s what the food bank is all about,” said Young.
The food bank has seen the demand for food assistance rise by 17 percent since last year. So every dollar raised and every food donation is critical for families who need it the most.
“The food bank can take a donated dollar and provide five meals,” said Young.
Frazier also said that she sees the impact of the higher prices on people she helps.
She knows every truck loaded and every dollar donated at the food bank gives families peace of mind for at least one meal.
“You can’t even go into a grocery store and get the necessities of milk and bread without spending 50 dollars,” said Frazier.
“The difference is huge, give, give all you can.”
The food drive kicks off Monday at our first location at the Jacksonville Food Lion on Gum Branch Road. Young says the best food items to donate are foods that make a meal like vegetables, meat products, and other canned food items.
You can head to https://wcti12.com/ to find our other locations and donate to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
