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Food Bank of CENC
By Katrina McDowell on Dec 8, 2023 in Giving
Today, we introduce the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, founded in 1980 in Raleigh, NC, with offices in Wilmington, Greenville, New Bern, Durham and Southern Pines. It works daily to provide food to people in need while building solutions to end hunger in the community.
The Food Bank collects donated, government-allocated purchased food, sorts it into family-sized portions and distributes it to a network of approximately 700 partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and meal programs for children and adults. All foods are healthy and nourish families, children, seniors, and individuals.
Through partnerships, education and evidence-based programs, the Food Bank empowers communities to overcome hunger, creating an environment where all North Carolinians can thrive.
“Our mission is to nourish people, build solutions to hunger, and empower communities to work with us to solve hunger,” said Andrea Maron, manager of the foundation partnerships for the Food Bank.
The Food Bank’s core mission is to distribute nutritious and culturally meaningful food to underserved individuals. Intending to distribute and target children and seniors, the Food Bank serves over 100 million pounds of food—83 million meals, including 50 million pounds of fresh produce. Realizing that they cannot solve hunger without addressing its root causes, they will continue to expand the cause of hunger work, including investing in policy and advocacy work to strengthen policies that can end hunger. The Food Bank additionally wants to focus on culturally meaningful foods to provide more variety to extend to other communities.
Inflation is hitting the Food Bank and partner agencies hard. Food and freight costs strain the budgets. Funding from Yardi helps the Food Bank buy nourishing food and transport it to those who need it in central and eastern North Carolina.
“We are so grateful for Yardi’s partnership and support! Yardi has provided incredibly generous grant funding, translating into thousands of meals on the tables of our food-insecure neighbors,” shares Maron.
#TeamYardi Volunteers
Last month, the Yardi corporate training team volunteered for the Food Bank. This unique team consists of people in multiple different offices across North America:
- Raleigh, NC- 3 employees
- Atlanta, GA- 3 employees
- Santa Barbara, CA- 3 employees
- Santa Ana, CA- 1 employee
- Saskatoon, Canada- 1 employee
- Toronto, Canada- 1 employee
- One remote employee from Southern California
What incredible group effort was put forth in exuding the Yardi mission of taking care of the community!
Charles’ Story
Charles took a lot of pleasure and pride in working in the construction industry until one day, on the job, a tree fell on him, breaking his skull and shattering vertebrae in his back. He was left with a plate in his head, six fused vertebrae, and no income because his injuries made it impossible to work.
Two years after his accident, medical bills continued to pile up. After paying household bills, Charles has $50 left for food and other needs. The Food Bank’s partner agency, Hillsborough Seventh Day Adventist Church, has been critical in helping Charles receive the help he needs.
Charles takes comfort in receiving help from the combination of food from his local pantry and the SNAP food assistance program. The Food Bank has helped Charles receive help from the combination of food from his local pantry and SNAP food assistance, ensuring he gets the nutrition he needs.
Charles states, “Without SNAP and the Food Bank, I wouldn’t be able to make it.” Charles now volunteers at the pantry, which helps him give back.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Food Bank. Last year, 56,445 volunteers provided 162,168 hours of service to the Food Bank, such as inspecting fresh produce, sorting food into family-sized bags, and packing food boxes for seniors. Yardi employees can sign up on the Food Banks website to volunteer individually or contact Marco Rodriguez at [email protected] to arrange for a group volunteer day.
Find future non-profit profiles at https://www.yardi.com/blog/category/giving.
