The Nourish Pillar of our Strategic Plan aims to address increased access to and distribution of nutritious food that is culturally appropriate, reduces waste, and strengthens the food systems in our community. Two new initiatives we’ve launched are Pop-Up Markets and NC Local Love.
In June of 2022, the Food Bank hosted its first Pop-Up Market – a no-cost food distribution in Louisburg. We now host Pop-Up Markets at 6 sites, 4 of which are on a regular schedule. Pop-Up Markets were set up to reach places across our service area that had barriers to
obtaining food.
“Most of the food that the Food Bank sends out goes to our partner agencies,” the Food Bank’s Pop-Up Market organizer Cassie James said. “That’s your food pantries, your soup kitchens of your local organizations that work with us. But pop-up markets are different because we are furthering our understanding of the communities we serve, filling gaps in service, and providing new volunteer opportunities across the service area for those looking to help others close to home.”
So far, Pop-Up Markets have served 11,000 individuals in over 3,000 households.
The NC Local Love initiative will strengthen connections with retailers and donors to our Partner Agencies so they will have access to more fresh, healthy produce that otherwise might have gone to waste while being more cost-effective at getting supplies to our Partner Agencies in a timely manner.
We started implementing this process at the beginning of fiscal year 2022, and our goal is to provide 6 million pounds of produce to our partners; so far, we have helped distribute 3 million pounds of fresh produce this fiscal year. In the past, we had 30-38% fresh produce distribution, but with this initiative in place, fresh produce has increased to 52%.
