As covered by WXII 12: http://www.wxii12.com/article/second-harvest-food-bank-north-carolina-mobile-food-pantry/60524919
Winston-Salem, N.C. — Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina’s newest program aims to improve food security across the region. The Mobile Pantry program addresses barriers that many families face in accessing food, including no transportation or convenient access to grocery stores, by bringing the food to more easily accessible locations.
“Strong and healthy communities start with food security,” said Second Harvest Chief Executive Officer Eric Aft. “Our network of food assistance partners is robust, but the fact is we have areas where families struggle to access these resources. This is particularly the case in more rural areas, as well as in communities of color, which are experiencing food insecurity at rates that are 2.5 times higher than the general population. Challenges include a lack of access to transportation or lack of resources to go the 20 or 30 miles for help, or both.”
On-going surveys and discussions with Second Harvest’s partner network members have continued to lift transportation challenges as a key barrier to families’ accessing available services. Second Harvest’s Mobile Pantry will travel the 18 counties of Northwest North Carolina each weekday and work in partnership with community-based organizations to provide more ready access to food relief for individuals and families – supplementing the work of its partner network.
“We will also use the Mobile Pantry, as appropriate, to be responsive to local crises, whether that’s a loss of a local resource or delays in application processes – as we’ve seen before across our region,” said Aft.
Initial funding for Second Harvest’s Mobile Pantry was provided by RTX Corporation through its support of Feeding America’s Equitable Access Initiative. The Food Lion Feeds Foundation is also providing support for the program.
“Supporting the local communities where our employees live, and work is our responsibility, and we are committed to helping solve the food security challenge,” said Pam Erickson, Raytheon Technologies’ chief communications officer and head of corporate philanthropy.
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