PORCH programs distribute fresh and non-perishable food to families, pantries and schools. Thanks to PORCH donors and volunteers, kids and families throughout Chapel Hill Carrboro have healthy foods, nutritious snacks, and meals that would otherwise be unaffordable.
Neighborhood food pantries have become a critical lifeline for families who struggle to put food on the table. Each month, PORCH collects food and cash donations from neighborhoods across Chapel Hill and Carrboro and delivers food to pantries for distribution. In 2022, PORCH worked with 13 pantries to identify and collect 2,150 bags of the non-perishable items that families need the most.
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In North Carolina, more than 550,000 households do not have enough food to eat each day. Our state has the ninth highest rate of food insecurity in the nation. As a supplement to the non-perishable goods that are more widely available at pantries, this program provides a monthly distribution of a variety of fresh food – like milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables – to approximately 550 families with children in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools.
Families are 19% Black, 22% Asian, 6% white, and 54% Latino. Clients include refugees from Burma, Congo, Ukraine, and Syria.
No child should miss classes or struggle in school because they are hungry! That’s why PORCH partners with local businesses and individuals to provide healthy snack foods to children in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, the district-wide pre-K program, and two local after-school programs.
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Food insecurity is a growing issue, with roughly 20% of children in North Carolina living in families that are struggling to put food on the table. Food For Thought raises awareness about food insecurity, calls 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.
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