More than half a million people across Central and Eastern North Carolina don’t know where their next meal might come from. Local and state organizations are stepping up to address food insecurity in our region.
Right now the demand for food assistance in our region has reached a near-record high, even surpassing the peak of the pandemic. Programs Manager at NC Alliance for Health, Marianne Hedrick Weant said, North Carolina is a pretty hungry state.
“We’re in the top ten for senior food insecurity, we rank highly child food insecurity, it’s something that kind of everyone collectively agrees is not really great, but maybe there isn’t a full consensus on how we address that.”
Food security is on the ballot this November, and Hedrick Weant said voters should pay attention to who is prioritizing feeding the people in our communities.
“81% of registered voters were in favor of just feeding kids for free in every public school in North Carolina, and that’s a pretty strong consensus, that was absolutely majority of Republicans, Democrats, kind of all of the big blocks that you would think about.”
NC Alliance for Health started working on food accessibility over a decade ago, now they are a leading partner in the state-wide School Meals for All coalition where they focus on partner engagement and policy reform.
“No one actually thinks having hungry kids in school is good for children, schools or communities, and it’s just getting to the finish line on how we solve that.”
NC Health Alliance is working with the School Meals for All partners to ensure that every child in every public school has access to breakfast and lunch while they’re at school, at no cost to their families.
NC Alliance for Health’s Partner Engagement Coordinator, Alecia Sanders said now is a crucial time for the coalition as they’re working towards the session in January.
“So we’re working on a state level to get this funding from the state legislators, whether it be through the budget or through a bill process. Currently, we’re working through the budget process to make this a reality for the state.”
School Meals for All is one of many programs that are building a future where students don’t have to worry where their next meal is coming from.
In Onslow County, the CHEW Program started over a decade ago. CHEW stands for Children Healthy Eating on Weekends, focused on providing students with child-friendly, easy to prepare meals when they go home.
In the beginning, CHEW served food to 10 students at Dixon Elementary School, and today, Director of Family Stability at United Way Onslow County, Shelly Kieweg said they serve nearly 1,000 kids across 35 schools.
“You are here at the Jacksonville hub and this is the brunt of CHEW, this is where the majority of the bags go out of. So, out of the 957 kids we had last year, over 700 were here.”
Kieweg said she notices signs of hunger in students, because she went through that herself.
“You know the signs, they are not concentrating, they are fidgety in class, they are running to the cafeteria, they’re asking for other people’s food.”
Kieweg said it's not uncommon for kids to make fun of other students who receive help, and the stigma around food insecurity keeps a lot of students and families from participating in CHEW’s program.
“One thing that we did that I’m super proud of is we’ve partnered with DoorDash. You go home with a bag, people are going to make fun of you, and we allow our middle and high schools to have the bags delivered to the houses, so that the kids don’t have to bring them home.”
The staff and volunteers at United Way all said even on rough days, they know why they show up to work each morning, because the community needs them.
“It hurts my heart, and the biggest reason that I’m here, and I stay here is to make sure that these kids are fed, because children are our future.”
Just having enough to eat can ensure that students are engaged in the classroom, and Kieweg said she wants to help kids focus on their passions instead of whether or not they’ll have something to eat when they go home.
“You never realize how much, just having a little bit of food, makes a difference in their lives, and how successful they’ll be as they’re growing up.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services plans to reduce food insecurity from 10.9% to 10% by December of this year. Programs in each community and policy reform are working towards this collective goal.