The following is a list of how organizations and individuals are working to assure people in and near Wake Forest have food on their table or have a place to get a meal.
** The next event which needs volunteers is the Rise Against Hunger meal-packing event on Saturday, March 28, at the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club at 325 South Wingate Street. They are expecting 300 volunteers to pack 55,000 meals that will go to emergency response or to feed school children overseas. Rise Against Hunger sends the meals to 70 developing countries.
All volunteers have to register at http://events.riseagainsthunger.org/MissionQuake and are asked to bring three to five cans of food that will go to Tri-Area Ministry. Parking is limited at the club so volunteers are asked to park at the Wake Forest Elementary School, 136 West Sycamore Avenue.
You can volunteer to help with the set-up at 8 a.m. on the website or check in at 9:30. The meal-packing will take place from 10 a.m. to noon followed by cleanup, and again you can volunteer for that on the website.
** Beyond Bites Cooking Class, a free class offered between April 18 and May 21, will be held for six weeks at the Alston-Massenburg Center on North Taylor Street every Thursday night from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The focus will be on healthy, nutritional cooking and cooking on a budget. Each week the participants will receive a bag of food and giveaways. Call the center at 919-554-6189 if you want to participate.
** Feed the Community Food Distribution has a food distribution every fourth Saturday, and the next one will be on March 28. It is sponsored by the Northeast Community Coalition and Tri-Area Ministry, and the distribution is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Spring Street Christian Church, 320 East Spring Street, Wake Forest. You must bring proof you live in Wake County. You can give signed permission for someone else to pick up food for you. If you are unable to get to the church, call Tee Caudle at 919-271-1275 to be registered in advance.
** Wake Forest Baptist Church and the InterFaith Food Shuttle offer a monthly Mobile Market, distributing groceries, including lots of fresh produce, on the third Tuesday of the month from 4:30 p.m. until all the food is distributed, usually about 6 p.m. The church is at 107 East South Avenue. The next distribution will be Tuesday, March 17.
** Every fourth Monday through April, March 23 being the next, Monday Community Meals offers a free meal and fun for everyone from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Alston-Massenburg Center on Taylor Street. There will be a bus pickup at 5:15 – 5:30 at the Corner of East Cedar Avenue and North Taylor Street and at Hope Village. This sponsored by the Northern Community Food Security Team, the Northeast Community Coalition, Olive Branch Baptist Church, The Forks Cafeteria, St. John’s Episcopal Church and My Birthday Too.
** Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry at 149 East Holding Avenue is now open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every third Saturday and every Monday and Wednesday for food distribution. It serves about 750 families in Wake Forest, Youngsville, Rolesville and their surrounding areas. Call 919-556-7144 for information about receiving food, volunteering and donations.
The rules for who can be served have changed, and now Tri-Area can serve people and families from neighboring counties. In the past those people were served once and referred to resources in their community.’
Tri-Area will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at 12 p.m. Thursday, March 26.
You can send donations to Tri-Area at PO Box 1394, Wake Forest NC 27588. The volunteers are still working out of a temporary building while they undertake substantial renovation.
** Hope House Weekly Food Pantry distributes food at 1 p.m. every Thursday. Hope House volunteers pick up the food from the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina and the house typically has vegetables, fruits, salad packages and breads but sometimes does have meat, eggs, fruit juice and milk. Hope House is at 334 North Allen Road. For more information, call Norma Bennekin at 919-263-1007.
*Hope House serves a free nutritious filling dinner to everyone who needs one at 6:30 p.m. every day except Saturday. Hope House is at 334 North Allen Road.
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