Ever worried about what you’ll do or where you’ll go the next time you need a meal? For many in northwest North Carolina, finding or affording food isn’t a guarantee. When food insecurity strikes, food banks are there to fulfill basic needs of individuals and families struggling to make ends meet. One such food bank is Second Harvest, servicing the area near our Lexington, North Carolina fulfillment center.
The Story of Second Harvest Food Bank
1 in 6 people living in Northwest North Carolina struggles with food insecurity, while 1 in 4 children goes without the essential nutrition needed to thrive. Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC is dedicated to providing food assistance through a network of partners, while educating and engaging the surrounding communities in the elimination of hunger and its causes.
Second Harvest serves more than 300,000 members of the community through a network of 470 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and feeding programs in 18 North Carolina counties. The organization offers Childhood Hunger Programs (including Kids Cafes, Weekend Backpacks, School Pantries and Summer Meal Programs) to ensure no child goes hungry. In addition, they provide nutritional workshops to promote better food choices, culinary training to help community members secure employment in the food service industry and disaster relief in times of critical need.
Vitacost and Second Harvest Food Bank
The Vitacost North Carolina fulfillment center has been giving to organizations within the local community for several years. In August 2016, associates were searching for a new organization where they could donate food, personal care essentials and other non-perishable items. With their broad demographic and wide variety of needs, Second Harvest Food Bank was a perfect fit.
“A choice was made to donate items which would help our community, instead of disposing of these items in our landfills,” said Matt Sawyer, Vitacost Operation Team Lead II – ICQA (Inventory Control Quality Assurance).
Every first Tuesday of the month, the Second Harvest truck arrives at the loading dock and associates work quickly to fill it up with pallets of food, paper products, personal hygiene essentials and cleaning supplies. From June through November 2017, Vitacost donated 75 pallets of product, with a total weight of more than 48,000 pounds.
The donations don’t just pack themselves – it takes a village of hard-working Vitacost associates to sort, pull, pack and palletize the products for Second Harvest.
According to Second Harvest Senior Communications and PR Manager Jenny Moore, more than 75% of the food they distribute through their 18-county network of food pantries and soup kitchens comes from community-driven food drives and the generous donations of year-round partners like Vitacost.
How you can help Second Harvest Food Bank
“Everyone can make a difference in the work to make our hometowns places where no one goes hungry and everyone thrives,” says Moore.
To help Second Harvest directly, consider donating food or hosting a food drive, volunteering your time, or providing funds to support the organization’s various programs. No donation is too small – every $1 donated provides 7 meals for families in need.
Second Harvest is part of the larger Feeding America distribution network, a nationwide organization of which Vitacost parent company Kroger is a founding partner and top contributor. For those living outside of Second Harvest’s service area, Moore encourages getting involved with the regional Feeding America food bank serving your community.
Related reading: Find out how volunteering benefits your health
Editor’s note: Unfortunately, some items can’t be donated – like perishable foods, for example. But don’t sentence them to the landfill! Our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan is our commitment to ending hunger in our communities and eliminating waste across our company by 2025. See what we’re doing to change our company and get involved by reducing waste at home with our simple tips.