PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: 'Feed The Pack' Director Wins 2026 Food Lion Award

The Food Bank recently joined our friends at Food Lion for an unforgettable surprise.

At Feed The Pack Food Pantry, dozens of supporters waited silently for our special guest, Alyssa Griffin. Alyssa serves as manager of NC State's food assistance hub, where her team supports more 750 people every month.

That incredible impact is why Food Lion surprised Alyssa with the 2026 'Lion Heart' volunteer award — an honor that came alongside Food Lion's donation of 10,000 meals to Feed the Pack. 

Alyssa is the steady force behind Feed The Pack's growth and lasting impact. As one of a handful of university food pantries in the area, Feed The Pack provides thousands of meals and supports tens of thousands of visits each and every year.

– Travis Nye Food Lion’s Local Director of Operations

Feed The Pack is set up like a typical convenience store with shelves of fresh produce and nonperishable items alongside coolers stocked with meat, bread, and snacks. With minimal paperwork outside a quick check-in, visitors can shop like a normal grocery store and select the items they need for themselves and their families.

Under Alyssa's leadership, Feed The Pack provided over 100,000 meals in the 2025-26 school year alone. 

Her team is often called "a little army of Alyssas." Shift leaders are trained to schedule food pick-ups and lead volunteer shifts. Alyssa also significantly improved data systems to view the pantry's full impact. 

I found that I love this work so much. I’ll always find the time and ability to make it work. So that’s what I did.

– Alyssa Griffin Feed The Pack Pantry Manager in conversation with News & Observer

On the NC State campus, 30% of students experience food insecurity experience food insecurity — and 1 in 9 students are housing insecure. These local challenges are part of a worsening trend across the United States, with a recent Government Accountability Office study showing 3.8 million students didn't have the resources to consistently keep nutritious food on the table during the academic year.

The startling numbers underscore the importance of campus-based operations like Feed the Pack, where many team members were inspired to join by their own experiences receiving food from the pantry. Program Associate Shishira Puttaswamy relied on Feed The Pack when she was an international student at NC State. Now, she welcomes visitors with the same kindness she received as a student. 

Alyssa embraces her team's lived experiences and creates an environment where people can be their most authentic selves. Shishira names Alyssa as a reason Feed the Pack feels like a family more than a workplace. 

Alyssa is like a big brother for all of us. We always feel like she is here with us, supporting us. We are more like a family than a workspace.

– Shishira Puttaswamy Feed the Pack Program Associate