Recognizing the rising need for hunger relief in the rural counties we serve, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is pleased to announce a recent $25,000 gift from the Louise Oriole Burevitch Endowment, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF).
Louise Oriole Burevitch and Jake (Photo credit North Carolina Community Foundation)
The grant for Building the Strength of Our Rural Communities will focus growth and expansion of Food Shuttle programming providing long-term hunger relief solutions for our neighbors in Edgecombe, Johnston, and Nash counties. When Mrs. Burevitch (familiarly known as “Mrs. B”) passed away in 2014, she left a fortune that few suspected she had. The bulk of her estate was earmarked for charitable purposes, including $20 million for an endowment to be administered by the NCCF. The endowment continues to be what NCCF CEO Jennifer Tolle Whiteside calls “a permanent asset for eastern North Carolina.”
The populations of all three counties are over 45% rural. The highest poverty rate in Edgecombe County falls in the Black community at 29.4%, with the highest poverty rates in Nash and Johnston counties both falling in the LatinX populations at 25.4% and 30.6%, respectively (Feeding America-Tableau Foundation).
There are many factors that are the drivers of poverty – and therefore food insecurity – in these areas, and it is this understanding that informs the Food Shuttle’s decision making in providing programming. From determining the types of food items we provide and the nutrition education materials we distribute with our family food boxes, BackPack Buddies, and Grocery Bags for Seniors, to strategically targeting Mobile Markets, Child Hunger Programs, and Spinning Plate Food Truck stops, we provide client-centered hunger solutions to the critically food-insecure neighbors in our rural service area.
The Food Shuttle’s food access services have increased by 214% in Nash County, 56% in Edgecombe County, and 11% in Johnston County over the last fiscal year. Thanks to the generous support of the NCCF Louise Oriole Burevitch grant, the Food Shuttle will be able to sustain and build our presence in these communities through partnerships with local farmers and expanded nutrition and agriculture education, as well as continued food distribution programs.
Through mindful consideration of each community’s unique needs and providing deliberate focus on both short- and long-term solutions, the Food Shuttle can help build a stronger future for our rural neighbors and their families.