October 2021: The Latest from PORCH

• Weaver Street Market’s Round Up! fundraising campaign for PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro kicked off Oct. 1 and runs through the end of November. Every penny rounded up from purchases made at the Carrboro and Southern Village locations will go toward funding fresh produce for our Food for Families program. Weaver Street Market has raised $315,000 for PORCH over the past six years thanks to Round Up! Happy shopping! 

• Check out the beautiful locally-grown veggies that we gave to 112 families recently. These special vegetables and herbs are unique items that you can’t find easily at local markets, making them all the more appreciated by our families who came to our community from Burma. This partnership with farmers from Transplanting Traditions is a very important part of PORCH, recognizing the value of cultural preferences. Pictured: roselle greens, water spinach, ginger, tsoi sim (closely related to bok choy), and lemongrass. For more information (including recipes using these ingredients!), go to transplantingtraditions.org.

• The PORCH Club at Chapel Hill High School has organized a benefit night for PORCH with local restaurant Big Belly Que (located in Blue Dogwood Public Market). Stop by Thursday evening, Oct. 14 for a sandwich or a barbecue plate – and don’t forget those delicious sides like mac and cheese or bacon-braised greens! Reminder: Big Belly Que is takeout only. 

• Our Food for Thought program raises awareness about food insecurity, brings attention to the intersectionality of food insecurity and poverty, and strives to engage the community in grassroots, as well as systemic, solutions to address hunger. 
  This month’s simple call to action: Reports of military families who struggle with food insecurity, turning in desperation to food pantries around the country, are unacceptable. Ask the Biden administration to take action in addressing this problem. 
  According to Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, the administration can take these specific steps: 
  – Publicly support and urge Congress to prioritize the full Military Family Basic Needs Allowance provision in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (FY22 NDAA).
  – Take administrative action to rectify anomalies in statutes governing SNAP and other federal programs that have prevented struggling, low-income military families from qualifying for needed assistance.
  – Prioritize a White House Conference on food, nutrition, and hunger that includes prominent consideration of veteran and military family food insecurity issues. 
  
  CONTACT INFO: 
  202-456-1111
  Email form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
  The White House
  1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
  Washington, DC 20500
  
  A final note: We always appreciate advocacy ideas from our PORCH community members. Have thoughts about what our next call to action should focus on? Email us – chc@porchcommunities.org

• Carol Lucas and Laurie Goldwasser recently became the dynamic duo in charge of PORCH’s nonperishable food donations. Each month, they will coordinate receiving the food, sorting it, packing it, and distributing hundreds of bags to our Food For Families program and 12 local pantries! They are excellent communicators who embody our mission and bring a palpable energy to all they do. Thank you, Carol and Laurie! 

• One afternoon each month, in the airy break room of the Redeye independent music warehouse in Hillsborough, about 15 people work diligently to fill boxes of fresh produce for PORCH.
  
  “Since moving to Hillsborough five-plus years ago, Redeye and Yep Roc Records have benefited from being part of a very special and welcoming community in Hillsborough,” says Glenn Dicker, co-owner of Redeye. “We have a passionate team who believe deeply in the company giving back to the community in which we work. PORCH’s mission connects with our team as a great way to directly help marginalized communities locally and contribute to helping make positive change. PORCH enabled us to do this in a consistent and organized manner with volunteers but also by offering our warehouse space to help with the monthly packing efforts. Our team loves being involved in an ongoing, committed way, so this is very meaningful to us.”
  
  This is such an incredible partnership! Read more about our collaboration with Redeye here.

• Khrystal, a Food for Families participant, shared these photos of the romaine lettuce salad and sautéed kale she made using ingredients she received through PORCH – looks delicious! So far in 2021, we have distributed 200,000 pounds of fresh food!

• Did you know that the PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro model is being replicated across the country? Currently, 24 PORCH chapters are operating in 7 states, with more coming soon. PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro co-founder Christine Cotton is the driving force behind PORCH Communities. Read more about her efforts here.

• The Jester Group at Baird, a private wealth management firm in Chapel Hill, recently hosted a shredding event that doubled as a food drive for PORCH. Look at all this food they collected! Thank you, Jester Group!

• Kenan-Flagler Cares’ 28th Annual Golf Classic is coming up on Nov. 5 (10 am to 4 pm) at the beautiful UNC Finley Golf Course. Proceeds will go to PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro as well as Super Cooper’s Little Red Wagon Foundation and Compass Center for Women and Families. Registration costs $100 per individual and $300 for a foursome. Register here: https://give.unc.edu/kfbs/events/golftournament

• Our partners at Weaver Street Market helped get us this wonderful donation from Cabot Creamery. They provided tote bags and 8 ounces of their delicious cheddar cheese this month to families in our fresh food program. We filled the tote bags with nonperishables from all of the generous folks participating in our neighborhood food drives!

• In October, 482 families (2,039 individuals!) in our fresh Food for Families program received 40 pounds of fresh produce, eggs, milk, chickens, cheese, bags of nonperishable food or fresh produce from Transplanting Traditions Community Farm, and $50 grocery gift cards. An overwhelming 91 percent of participants in our Food for Families Program say they worry about having enough food to feed their families; 71 percent report less income due to the pandemic; and 83 percent say that the fresh food we provide allows them to put healthier meals on the table for their families. Big thanks to our partners and volunteers who make this happen!