This story was originally published several years ago; however, Joyce Kohfeldt's passion for feeding children and supporting the work of ending childhood hunger continues to this day. “Unacceptable.” That’s what Joyce Kohfeldt thought to herself when she learned how many children in Northwest North Carolina go hungry. “This is unacceptable,” she told Daisy Rodriguez, then Director of Childhood Hunger Programs, when she called Second Harvest Food Bank to ask what she could do.

Get the entire family involved in giving this season with Reverse Advent Calendar Food Drive!

Second Harvest Food Bank's outreach team is helping connect families with vital resources, such as SNAP.

As summer break quickly approaches, Second Harvest is revisiting some of the stories we have told from our summer meal sites across Northwest North Carolina. This one is located in Guilford County. “Milk!” Leonard Community Recreation Center Director Linda Marsh calls a gentle reminder across the hall; she is keeping a watchful eye on the lunchline. A little girl hears her and steps back to the serving table and picks up a milk carton, balancing it on her lunch tray precariou

Trenton, like all kids, loves summertime. He loves to ride bikes with his friends, he loves his “summertime” bedtime (9 PM instead of 8:30 PM). He loves to stomp in the small creek that runs on the edge of their neighborhood, using sticks and stones to create dams and redirect the thin flow of water. He loves to draw on the street in front of their house with chalk. But for his mother, Trisha, summertime is a difficult time to navigate. A home health aide, Trisha keeps runnin

“Everything was close to Clyde’s heart.” That’s what Nikki McCormick, Second Harvest’s Agency Relations Director, thought when Kay Carter of our sister food bank in Charlotte called to ask to make a special donation in honor of the late Clyde Fitzgerald, Second Harvest’s former CEO who passed away last month. It is true that Clyde had no shortage of passion for feeding people in need. Clyde had been around Second Harvest Food Bank since its inception, volunteering with his wi

Every day, usually before the sun is even up, Second Harvest’s small fleet of 10 trucks roll out our gates and across 18 counties of Northwest North Carolina. Some set out on the highways, traveling through Greensboro and Burlington and Statesville, and some of them turn up winding roads into the mountains, traveling through Wilkesboro on their way to Jefferson or Boone. Covering an incredible 6,325 miles a week, these trucks and these roads are the cornerstone of our work. O

Summertime is an expensive time for Northwest North Carolina families, and even families above the poverty line feel the burden of childcare and must come to creative solutions to cover their basic needs. The following is a guest blog post written by Zac Shuford of Guilford County. Zac is a mechanic and a father, and talks about the incredible expense of childcare during the summer, and how it impacts families struggling to make ends meet. I walk with my hands up in front of

It’s summertime. The kids are out of school and sprinklers are set up in the yard. Bedtime is a bit later, and homework feels like something of the past. The pools are filled with joyful kids, and their parents are slathering sunblock on their shoulders. But as any parent knows, summertime is an expensive time. The electrical bill goes way up as we try to keep our houses cool in the hot summer heat, and those trips to the pool certainly can add up. The kids also seem to grow

“What’s the saying? Shoot for the sky and you might hit the ceiling?” Joey Motsey smiles a broad grin and laughs a little; he switches his hands and now, with his left hand, punches the speed bag in front of him while shaking out a cramp in his right. His eyes glance over to a huge digital clock a few feet away: 5 hours and 37 minutes. He returns his focus on the bag. Only 49 hours and some change to go. Joey is attempting to break the Guinness World Record Marathon for hitti

The following is a guest blog post by Stefanie Lee of the CAHEC Foundation, first published in the CAHEC Foundation Newsletter. Created in 1992, CAHEC ranks as one of the largest nonprofit regional equity syndicators in the United States. They specialize in tax credit syndication by raising equity capital and investing in affordable housing and community revitalization opportunities throughout the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. With this collaborative partnership and others, Sec

School cancellations, especially when they stretch into several days in a row, can force families to choose between paying utility or medical bills and having enough food. That is because in nearly all of the counties that Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina serves, the majority of school aged children income-qualify for free or reduced priced meals at school. And many families have already factored that help into their monthly budgets. Low income families ca

Winter in the South can be cold and muddy. So when the snow falls, blanketing the ground and blessing the tree limbs with fresh white, all our hearts skip a beat. It is simply beautiful. But for many North Carolinian children, snow days mean hungry days. Across the 18 Northwest North Carolina counties that Second Harvest Food Bank serves, 1 in 4 children are food insecure–meaning they do not have reliable access to healthy, nutritious food to fuel their growing bodies and min

“I hope you tell all the other kids about it.” That’s what a young boy said to the volunteers at the food pantry located in his school. He had come to the pantry the night before with his family and, he explained, he and his brother both got their own piece of meat on their plates for dinner that night. The volunteers assured him they would. At Second Harvest Food Bank, we believe that every child in Northwest North Carolina should have enough to eat— every meal, every day. T

Last Thanksgiving, Crystal figured out how to cook turkey in a crockpot. The 300 square feet of their motel room was filled with the familiar smells of the holidays and for a moment felt like a home. She and her husband, Tom, enjoyed the meal on the bed, while their baby toddled around the room pushing a wagon of blocks. This was their second month in the motel. After losing an apartment where they lived with another couple, they moved into this motel near downtown Greensboro

The squirming feet and wiggling hands always makes it a little unnerving to unload a plastic tub of knives and cutting boards in an elementary school classroom. But our Nutrition Services team and volunteers are now pros at presenting the knife safety portion of the Cooking Matters for Kids class, and we usually get that out of the way first. Second Harvest’s six-week Cooking Matters for Kids (a partnership with Share Our Strength) teaches children in 3rd through 5th grade ho

“Bye Trenton! See ya’ Myra!” Liberty Drive Elementary School’s halls are buzzing with excitement as the bell rings and another school day draws to an end. Shaylen Brown’s cheerful voice rings out over the children’s heads as they head towards their buses. A mother of four and a former front office employee, Ms. Brown is a familiar and kind face in these hallways, positioning her perfectly for her new role as Student Support Specialist with Communities in Schools (CIS), an on-

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