As part of a nationwide effort to address the growing concern of hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle has teamed up with Wells Fargo to hold Emergency Food Distributions every week in September at one of the bank branch locations. Held each Wednesday in September—which has been designated Hunger Action Month—from 5 to 7 p.m. at 3959 New Bern Ave. in Raleigh, the drive-through event is set up to provide 200 families each week with boxes of fresh produce and shelf-stable non-perishable food items. The initial plan was to distribute the food to families from Washington Elementary and River Oaks Middle School, but word of the distributions spread and people started to come from all over to take advantage of the opportunity.
In the first three weeks of the effort, 7,401 pounds of food have been distributed to families, providing over 6,000 meals.
“With food insecurity on the rise due to the pandemic, we’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to provide meals for families in need.” said Suzie Koonce, Community Relations Senior Consultant with Wells Fargo. “We understand that now, more than ever, we need to be there for our local communities with action and collaboration.”
The Emergency Food Distributions will continue through the final weeks of September, on Wednesday, September 23 and Wednesday, September 30.