Initiatives & Events - Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Grab & Go Meals for Kids during COVID-19 @ Multiple locations & times

Mar 31 – Aug 31 all-day

With schools out due to COVID-19, there are active locations across our service area providing free grab-and-go meals for children. We will be updating the list as often as needed.

In addition, Sheetz has announced they are offering free Kidz Meal Bagz at these locations.

List of Grab & Go Meals for Kids

Food will be distributed by volunteers at curbside or other designated area to minimize safety concerns.
Social distancing is to be enforced by all.
The food will be placed in safe and sanitized food containers.
You will not be required to show ID.
Children do not have to be present with you to pick up food.

Any organizations interested in filling a need and setting up meal pick up location(s) in our service area can submit a request to serve meals for kids.

More places to find food:

Anyone in our 34-county service area who needs help with food can visit our Food Finder page to look up local members of our partner agency network. (Live outside our service area? Find your local food bank here.)

More ways to give help:

As we shift our inventory to be as nimble as possible to meet the ever-changing need, funds are the resource we need most. They allow us to make purchases in bulk, and tailor our operation as needed in the coming days and weeks.

Also, the Food Bank greatly relies on our volunteers, especially in times of crisis. If you are a healthy adult and want to volunteer, you can self-schedule a shift at foodbankcenc.org/volunteer

August is Partner Appreciation Month

The Food Bank’s Partner Services and Public Policy Department has designated August as Partner Appreciation Month. It is an opportunity for the Food Bank to recognize all the amazing work done by our partner agency network to nourish, build and empower their local communities. We have always considered our partners to be dedicated hunger-relief advocates, but during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic they have shown us truly what it means to be hunger heroes: dedicated, compassionate, and enduring.

To show how much we appreciate our partners, we have planned virtual activities for the month of August. These activities range from sharing Thank You Messages to offering small tokens of our appreciation. We know that just saying thank you will never be enough to encompass all of what our partners mean to the Food Bank, but we agree that it is where we should start.

Activity 1: Daily Dose of Thank You

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness…” (A. Collette) We realize the power of starting off the week on a positive note. Every Monday in August, the Partner Appreciation Committee will send a Thank You Message to partners via email from a Food Bank Staff or Board Member. Feel free to share these messages of encouragement with your agency staff and/or volunteers.

Activity 2: Daily Dose of Thank You
Tell Me Something Good Edition

Did you know that the Food Bank distributed its 1 billionth pound this year? Every Friday in August, the Partner Appreciation Committee will send partners a Tell Me Something Good (TMSG) Email that announces a milestone that the Food Bank and its network has reached this year. In addition, in TMSG we will include a Thank You Message from a Food Bank Staff Member and an announcement of the winners of our Partner Agency Raffle. Stay tuned for TMSG’s exciting announcements.

Activity 3: Partner Appreciation Raffle

Every Friday during the month of August, the Partner Appreciation Committee will announce 28 winners of our raffle. The winners will be announced in our TMSG Email. To win partners must be in good standing. To see a full listing of requirements to win, please refer to the Partner Appreciation Month Introduction Email. All partners that fit the eligibility requirements are automatically enrolled in the raffle. “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

Activity 4: Virtual Partner Agency Milestone Certificate Presentation
Date: week of August 24-28

Did you know that the Food Bank is commemorating its 40^th anniversary this year? In honor of recognizing 40 years of nourishing, building and empowering communities the Partner Services Department would like to recognize our partners and their decade milestones. Each agency will receive a personal Thank You message from their Outreach Coordinator that includes a copy of their decade milestone certificate.

Activity 5: State of the Food Bank: A Virtual Conversation Between Food Bank Leadership and Partner Agencies

Date: September 1, 2020
Time: 3pm-4:30pm
Virtual Meeting Location: WebEx

Join Peter Werbicki, President & CEO of the Food Bank and Earline Middleton, Vice President of Partner Services & Public Policy for a conversation reflecting on the Food Bank’s 40 years of service, the organization’s Strategic Plan highlighting our response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, advocacy efforts and more. Before and during this conversation there will be opportunities for partners to submit questions.

This event is open to all partner agencies of the Food Bank on a first come, first served basis. The conversation will take place via WebEx with an option to call in for the meeting. The State of the Food Bank will be recorded and distributed later for partners to view who could not attend the live session. Due to limited spaces, please limit your agency representatives to two people if they are joining the meeting using separate devices.

Partner Services and Public Policy Department Quote

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of serving communities with food for daily nourishment, supplies during disasters, and now hope during a pandemic. This August we honor our collective partner agency network. Thank you for providing food assistance, benefit support, programs, and educational opportunities for communities throughout our 34-county service area. You have been here with us, never wavering in your commitment to serving others. Rain, snow, sleet, shine, hurricane, or pandemic, your doors have remained open, creating an environment of hope. We continue to work every day to ensure no one goes hungry. We could not do what we do without YOU!

Este año se celebra el 40° aniversario de servir a las comunidades proporcionando alimentos para la alimentación diaria, suministros durante los desastres y ahora con esperanza durante una pandemia. Este Agosto estamos honrando a nuestra red de agencias colaboradas. Gracias por proporcionar asistencia alimenticia, apoyo a beneficios, programas y oportunidades educativas para las comunidades en cada uno de los 34 condados a los cuales servimos. Ustedes siempre han estado aquí con nosotros sin poner en duda el compromiso de servir a los demás. Con lluvia, nieve, huracán o pandemia sus puertas han permanecido abiertas creando un ambiente de esperanza. Seguiremos trabajando todos los días para asegurarnos de que nadie pase hambre. ¡No podríamos hacer lo que hacemos sin USTEDES!

Partner Appreciation Committee Quote

A movement starts with individual will power and sustains itself with collective willpower. Together we are an unstoppable force for change; 900 hunger relief agencies and growing.