April 2022: The Latest from PORCH

• Come visit PORCH at the UNC Science Expo at the Morehead Planetarium on April 9 from 11a.m. to 4 p.m.. The Expo is a fun science festival that showcases the research of UNC students and faculty. PORCH will be at the UNC Pediatric Clinic booth. We’ll have games and information about getting more involved with PORCH. If you’re planning to attend, bring along some- non-perishable food to add to the pantry that PORCH supports at the UNC Pediatric Clinic! More info: https://moreheadplanetarium.org/program/expo/

• Add “get burritos” to your Friday calendar! Carrburritos has generously agreed to donate 15% of their proceeds to PORCH on April 8! Thanks to the PORCH Club at Chapel Hill High for coordinating this benefit day for us. 

• In March, PORCH welcomed Erica Brierley our new full-time program manager. Erica will manage, maintain, and develop all aspects of our programs including Food for Families, Food for Pantries, and Food for Schools. Get to know Erica here!

• UNC Initiative on Poverty and Inequality held a bake sale fundraiser for PORCH recently at The Pit on campus. They sold out in two hours, surpassing their goal of $100 and raising $113. Thank you! IPI seeks to increase awareness and community education and bring these issues into our community’s larger conversation. Additionally, IPI seeks to engage members of the student body and create a space for working together to create projects targeted at mitigating issues of poverty and inequality.

• Five-year-old Gus knows you’re never too young to make a difference. His neighborhood lemonade and cookie stand raised more than $100 for PORCH – and he also raised funds for the fabulous Duke Lemur Center. His mom says Gus has been selecting food for PORCH at the grocery store every week since he was 2. We admire your kind heart and generous spirit, Gus! 

• On April 23, Natalie Marrone Homes invites you to bring a bag of non-perishable food to 102 Ironwood Place, Chapel Hill, for Festa Della Terra, an “artful food drive” to support PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro. The event will feature live music by Will Ridenour on the African harp and art installations! 

• Carolina Cupboard is a student-run, on-campus food pantry at UNC that provides food at no costs to students who are facing food insecurity. It is estimated that more than 22 percent of undergrad and grad students on campus experience food insecurity. Each month, we deliver food to local pantries, including Carolina Cupboard. Learn more about them by reading this feature story.

• This month, we distributed food to a record 508 families (2,133 individuals!) in our fresh Food for Families program. Participants received 40 pounds of fresh produce, two dozen eggs, gallons of milk, bags of non-perishable food, and $60 grocery gift cards.
  We recently received this note from a Food for Families participant: “It means everything – life has been up and down these past few years. PORCH has fed my family when I couldn’t. I want to say thank you to everyone.” Thank you to our volunteers, donors, and partners who make this work possible! Together, we truly make a difference in our community.

• National Volunteer Week began April 17! A huge thanks to Amy, Dave, and Cleo Strong for delivering food to five families in our Food For Families program! PORCH quite literally could not operate without the dozens of volunteers who lend their time, talent, voice, and support to our mission. It takes a village – and ours is incredible!

• Neighborhood Coordinators play such an important role in our work! They are the bridge between the local residents who want to give non-perishable food and our organization. They coordinate monthly food collections for their neighborhood or street. They are responsible for spreading the word about the designated day for the monthly food drives, picking up donations from neighborhood porches, and getting the non-perishable bags of food to a central location. Their passion for hunger relief ripples throughout the entire community. Thanks to our 100+ Neighborhood Coordinators, we collected $48,060 worth of non-perishable food items in the first quarter of this year. Pictured above are two of our newest Neighborhood Coordinators, Bannie Pan and Kate Chou. We are happy to have them on board! Unsure of whether or not your neighborhood has a Neighborhood Coordinator? Check out our updated list!

• With rising costs comes increased pressure on our neighbors to make sure their bills are paid and their children are fed. To all of you helping to alleviate hunger and promote better nutrition in our community, thank you!