* Andrew Brown with the Northern Community Food Security Team (NCFST) provided this information.
The NCFST has partnered with several non-profits to establish a “Weekend Meals” program. We give them out with the Wake County Public Schools System “Drive By” on Fridays along with the lunch/breakfast provided by the school system. We have had food boxes, milk, eggs, fruit and other shelf stable foods donated. Partners include Tri-Area Ministry, FreshPoint, BackPack Buddies and others.
To date the “Drive By” for lunch and a breakfast meal for the next day has grown since March 17 to 235 children/families on April 1. There were 50 families participating in the weekend meal distribution on March 20 and 75 on March 27.
* George Shaw has provided the following information about food distribution and volunteers. He is an independent volunteer. There is additional information in last week’s Feeding Wake Forest and more which you can find by scrolling through the News.
An increasing number of customers are going to our pantries and feeding programs, a harbinger of a large increase expected during the next several weeks because of rising unemployment. Our community is responding with a growing number of food drives as well as curbside distribution programs.
The recent stay-in-place requirements exempt food and social service for needy individuals. Food security organizations in our area have all adopted social distancing guidelines. In addition, changes are coming to the tax laws to facilitate giving both for those who itemize deductions as well as those who do not.
There are opportunities for all residents of Wake Forest to help by contributing goods to area food drives, donating money to pantries, volunteering or driving for local programs as well as reaching out to those who feel isolated during this time of staying-in-place.
Recent Events and New Initiatives
o Wake County stay-in-place order. Specific exemption is made for businesses, non-profits and organizations that provide food, shelter, goods, social services and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals provided that they adhere to social distancing policies. These apply to all food initiatives – pantries, distribution drives and community gardens for the safety of both volunteers and customers.
o Charitable Giving Guidelines. The stimulus bill passed last week proposed changes for charitable giving. Implementing regulations will follow. According to Forbes, the bill proposed letting non-itemizers take up to a $300 above-the-line deduction for cash donations made in 2020. It also proposed that individuals that the limitation of 50 percent of adjusted gross income be suspended for 2020. For corporations, the 10 percent limitation would be increased to 25% of taxable income.
Rise Against Hunger (RAH) rice. At least 15 organizations in Wake Forest and Rolesville pack a total of 200,000+ meals each year. These go for emergency relief and to feed school children in places such as Haiti and Sub Saharan Africa. RAH has had to postpone meal packing events for the next several months because of the virus. Wake Forest has spearheaded a county wide initiative to raise money for 46,000 pounds of rice from RAH’s warehouse in north Raleigh. It will either be shipped directly to food pantries or be sent to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in Raleigh. Volunteers at the food bank will package the rice into family-size bags where it will be picked up by some of the roughly 300 pantries in 34 counties who are partners of the Food Bank. Pantries and food delivery programs in our area will receive rice to meet their needs for the next month.
o Sharing food among pantries. Our seven pantries are increasingly sharing food supplies. North Wake Church had too many cans of corn and green beans. They swapped some of their supply for donations raised by the drive through food drive of the United Methodist Church.
Updates
o Increasing volume at local pantries & feeding programs. Food distribution at area pantries has increased in the last week as the initial effects of rising unemployment are felt in our area. Tri-Area Ministry’s food distribution in Northeast increased from 24 families in February to 57 families on March 22. This increase in demand is expected to grow steadily in the next few weeks.
The lunch/breakfast program at the Northern Regional Center, a partnership with Wake County Public Schools System, the Town of Wake Forest and several non-profits, averages 160 visitors for their lunch/breakfast program on Mondays through Wednesdays and over 220 visitors on Fridays for the Weekend Special.
Wake Forest Baptist Church collected 1100 items last Sunday to support their programs in Northeast Wake Forest. The United Methodist Church has collected six large bins of donations in the last two weeks.
o Additional feeding programs. Raleigh Dream Center (RDC) has delivered food to New Hope Village #2 in Northeast Wake Forest since last year, building on their program in half a dozen sites in Raleigh. RDC has opened up a number of weekday meal sites including the Granite Acres Mobile Park in Rolesville and Cooley’s Mobile Home Park in Youngsville. They plan to open up a similar site in New Hope Village #1 next week.
Wake County Public School System has increased the number of children and family meal sites in our area. In addition to the ones at the Northern Regional Center and the Mobile Market at Wake Forest Baptist Church, sites have been opened at both Rolesville Middle and Rolesville High Schools.
o Additional food drives. New drive through food drives have started up at Wellspring Church in Wake Forest, Oak Grove Baptist Church in Youngsville as well as a coalition of organizations collecting food at five locations in Rolesville.
St. Catherine’s Catholic Church has sponsored a number of collections. Their youth are currently collecting for Tri-Area Ministry using the pantry’s Amazon wish list. The parish also collected for Meals on Wheels, providing frozen meals, fruit and drinks for a week’s worth of meals. This initiative collected nearly twice its goal so it helped not only Wake Forest but other hard-hit areas of eastern Wake County. St. Catherine’s is now collecting for Resources for Seniors to provide groceries to that community that is at significant risk of capturing the virus.
o Community outreach in northeast Wake Forest. North East Community Coalition’s initial conference call with the residents will be on April 2 starting at 6:30 p.m. The purpose is to better understand their concerns and issues as well as to identify resources that can support them. NECC is partnering with Wake Network of Care to help with the identification of non-profits from across the county.
o Community gardens prepare for spring. Our community gardens continue to prepare for spring with planting and mulching of beds. The Saturday work sessions are limited to no more than 10 volunteers. Each garden has strict rules for social distancing; please enquire about their rules before volunteering. All three gardens (Community Connections Garden at Wake Forest Baptist; WF Presbyterian Church; and the Northeast Garden next to the Spring Street Church) welcome volunteers from across Wake Forest.
How residents can help
There are several ways that residents in our area can help:
Donate food to pantries. Our pantries that remain open need canned and shelf stable food as well as hygiene products. The best time to donate to them is in the hour before they open for customers.
Organize drive-through food drives. These are easy for organizations to set up. It helps to have a protected space such as a patio protected from the elements as well as an area indoors where the food can be stored overnight.
Donate funds. Food pantries spend much of donated funds on what they need to ensure customers receive nutritious food. This includes fresh produce at grocery stores as well as weekly pick-ups from the food bank in Raleigh. The food bank charges pantries 19 cents a pound for most items including meat.
Volunteer. As the number of customers rises, there may be a need for more volunteers at our pantries and feeding programs. There is particular need for younger volunteers who are at least risk of catching the virus. Gleaning in the fields to pick crops will start up late spring under the sponsorship of the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA).
Drive. There will also likely be an increased requirement for folks who are willing to help out by driving. This includes transporting food between pantries as well as delivering food to homebound citizens. SoSA also sponsors events to pick up crops that are in excess of what can be sold at farmers markets and roadside stands. Wake Forest residents picked up yellow squash in Norlina and tomatoes in Bunn last year and delivered them to our pantries.
Reduce Isolation. There are opportunities to help fellow residents in this time of uncertainty. Please call, email or text someone they know to make sure they are okay.
Food Distribution Programs and Contact Information
Please contact the Wake Forest Gazette or George Shaw (g0b07shaw@gmail.com) if you are aware of additional programs or would like to start one.
Glory Tabernacle (120 Weather St., Youngsville)
– Tuesdays, 2 pm
New Bethel Baptist Church (605 E. Young St., Rolesville)
– Tuesdays only, 10 am to 2 pm (drive through)
North Wake Church (1212 S. Main St., WF)
– Sundays, 8:45 to 10:30 am
Northern Regional Center (350 E. Holding St., WF)
– Mondays – Thursdays lunch/breakfast program (drive by)
– Friday weekend special program (drive by)
Oak Level Christian Church (2279 Cedar Creek Rd. Youngsville)
Raleigh Dream Center (headquarters, 5616 Fox Road, Raleigh)
– Weekdays starting at 11:30 am at various locations
– Saturdays starting at 10 am at New Hope Village
Richland Creek Community Church (3229 Burlington Mill Rd., WF)
– 2nd & 4th Saturdays (drive through)
Rolesville High School (1099 E. Young St., Rolesville.)
– Wake County Public School System Children & Family Meal Site
– Weekdays, 11 am to 1 pm
Rolesville Middle School (4700 Burlington MIlls Dr., Rolesville)
– Wake County Public School System Children & Family Meal Site
– Weekdays, 11 am to 1 pm
Tri-Area Ministry (149 E. Holding St., WF)
– Mondays, Wednesdays & 3rd Saturdays, 10 am to 1 pm (drive through)
– Food distribution at Spring St. Church (northeast WF) 4th Saturday
Universal Outreach (4913 Universal Dr., WF)
– 1st & 3rd Saturdays, 9-11 am
Wake Forest Baptist Church
– Good Neighbor Ministry, Saturdays at 11 am passes out hot dogs and water at Taylor St. Park
– Mobile Soup Kitchen starting 5:45 pm Wednesdays in the parking lot at Olive Branch Baptist Church
– Mobile Market (partnered with Inter Faith Food Shuttle, 3rd Tuesday starting at 4 pm (drive through)
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