“I attended a Thanksgiving party for my son's class.  I had provided peanut butter, jelly and bread for the party and at the end there was some left over.  I asked his teacher if she would be able to use it in her class before it spoiled and she said, ‘Oh no, I have a couple of students I can send that home with for the weekend.’  I remember being stunned and sort of embarrassed that I had been talking to all the kids about what their favorite thing to eat for Thanksgiving was.  It did not occur to me that some of them would not eat at all.  A few weeks later I read Ruth Sheehan's column and that did it--I went to my church and talked with some people.”

“I work in the Wake County School system and see the affects of hunger on children every day. Their lack of ability to sit, focus, behave or sometimes even stay awake. I had to get involved to help.”

So these two mothers got some start up money from the ECW (Episcopal Churchwomen) and then they co-chaired a yard sale at church that raised over $3,000.  They convinced the group to give the money to sponsor children for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s BackPack Buddies Program. 

“We literally sat in front of the shelves of food and talked, like we were in front of a fireplace.  The warmth of just knowing we were going to make a difference in some children's lives, we could not pull ourselves away.” I have seen them packing the backpacks with such intention and a genuine care for the children whom they are helping.  They are thinking beyond themselves and their families.  They are truly thinking about the needs of others.

The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is incredibly thankful for these and all our BackPack Buddies community partners

If you would like to help, call 250-0043 and speak to Melissa or Tonya.

Children’s Programs

NC Congressman Bob Etheridge shares a snack with children participating in the Food Shuttle's Summer Food Service Program.

From our inception, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle has made childhood hunger one of our highest service priorities. We continually look for new programs and new ways to get our nutritious, fresh foods onto the plates of children who have too little. In Wake and Durham Counties, more than 50,000 low-income children receive free and reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program. But what do these children do after school, during the weekends, or through summer break? We won’t let them go hungry.

Summer Food Service Program

The Summer Food Service Program provides summer activities and a balanced cold lunch, breakfast, and/or snack to children who receive free & reduced lunches during the academic year, but “fall through the cracks” during the summer months. Healthy meals which conform with federal guidelines are provided to children participating in approved summer day camp programs. The meals are prepared in our state-of-the-art kitchen by trainees and graduates of our Culinary Job Training Program, and are delivered on Food Shuttle trucks. Partners in Summer Food Service include Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, Housing Authority Communities, and Womble Carlyle.


Backpack Buddies Program
Also targets kids who access free & reduced-price lunches at school, but need other nutritional support over the weekends. Children from targeted neighborhoods & schools are identified, and are handed backpacks loaded with appetizing healthy foods to tide them over the weekend. Local corporations, civic groups & individuals help us collect backpacks and the kid-friendly nonperishable food we will fill them with, and pack the bags for the children. Empty backpacks are collected, and then re-filled for the next weekend’s use. Partners include Southwest Airlines, Housing Authority Communities, Church of the Nativity, Soapstone UMC, and Fairmont UMC.

Kids Café
The Food Shuttle provides healthy, hot dinners for children participating in evening tutoring programs. Hot, balanced meals are prepared in our kitchen by students and graduates of our Culinary Job Training Program, the meals are flash-frozen, and re-heated on site for service to at-risk youth. Partners include Avent Ferry UMC, Western Boulevard Presbyterian in Raleigh, Lakewood YMCA in Durham, Hargraves Center Parks & Rec. in Chapel Hill, and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.

Tutoring Programs
A healthy snack of fruit, granola bars, juice boxes, and crackers are provided to after-school tutoring programs at Housing Authority Communities, and Communities in Schools facilities.

Blue Ribbon Panel
The Food Shuttle is forming a large coalition of community partners to raise awareness of the issues of childhood hunger and food insecurity in the Triangle.

Are you interested in helping the Food Shuttle help hungry children? All these programs need volunteers and financial support. Please call 919-250-0043.