FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Harvest Hope has received 1.9 million meals from the Duke Endowment grant to Feeding the Carolinas.
“Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Harvest Hope has seen a five-fold rise in the number of neighbors who need food assistance,” says Wendy Broderick, Harvest Hope CEO. “This gift from The Duke Endowment is going to ensure that families across our state don’t go hungry during this difficult time.”
Trustees of The Duke Endowment have awarded a $3.5 million grant to Feeding the Carolinas, a network of 10 food banks serving more than 3,700 charitable agencies in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The funding will help Feeding the Carolinas respond to increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feeding the Carolinas is an affiliate of Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks. Its 10 food banks annually provide food to 2.6 million Carolinians facing hunger, including hundreds of thousands of children and seniors. Each food bank has met stringent guidelines to be associated with the network.
“The impact is being felt in communities large and small,” says Mike Darrow, executive director of Feeding the Carolinas. “The crisis is disrupting the lives of nearly everyone in some way, but food-insecure individuals are facing particular challenges, and the number of people who experience food insecurity is expected to grow.”
The Duke Endowment is one of the largest private foundations in the Southeast. Its work in North Carolina and South Carolina focuses on four program areas: child and family well-being, health care, higher education and rural United Methodist churches. The foundation shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but they are separate organizations.
“With food insecurity challenging so many more families and individuals during this crisis, food banks are stretching to provide critical support,” said Duke Endowment Board Chair Minor Shaw. “In this escalating fight against hunger, Feeding the Carolinas is committed to helping people who urgently need it the most across our two states.”
The Endowment previously awarded $2.5 million to address vital health care and social needs related to the coronavirus crisis. With that funding, $1.25 million is being dispersed through the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation, the charitable nonprofit affiliate of the North Carolina Healthcare Association. In South Carolina, the $1.25 million is being dispersed through One SC, a fund created at Central Carolina Community Foundation to respond to natural disasters.
