Food insecurity is becoming more of a reality for many people in the community as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. As a result, local organizations like PORCH have stepped up their efforts in order to continue to fight hunger through this nationwide crisis.
One of the founders and directors of PORCH, Debbie Horwitz, recently spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about the community-wide coalition working to meet this important need. PORCH, a non-profit hunger relief organization run completely by volunteers, has been working hand-in-hand with a number of other similar non-profits throughout this crisis to deliver pre-packaged boxes of food to families.
These boxes are packed with healthy items and dry goods, using supplies donated by the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina and a moving truck donated to the cause by Two Men and a Truck.
Each Wednesday marks the biggest distribution of the week, as families wait in line in their cars at the Chapel Hill Public Library before being served their boxes in drive-thru fashion.
As the financial situation becomes increasingly dire for more and more people due to the pandemic, the demand for this food has continued to increase. Horwitz said this past Wednesday’s turnout of 543 households—which equates to nearly 2,400 individuals—was an all-time record.
“There are 40 volunteers involved in these distributions weekly,” Horwitz said. “We’ve got the Town of Chapel Hill Police Department directing traffic. We’ve got the Town of Chapel Hill that’s actually cleaning up after these events. You know, taking away all the recycled paper and boxes. It’s an incredible effort. Tons of PORCH volunteers coming out to make this happen weekly.”
In addition to these large distributions, PORCH also has 475 families it helps feed on a regular basis. Taking on this massive amount of work has forced Horwitz and company into finding a solution in the form of grocery store gift cards—something she said they will continue to do even after they can get their normal distribution schedule back in place due to all the extra support needed right now.
In addition, PORCH is also providing grocery gift cards for the 15 pantries in Orange County that it provides for, and to the fellow non-profits helping the cause like the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, Meals on Wheels and the Refugee Support Center.
“This is a real partnership and an example of people coming together to really meet the need because food insecurity is growing and people are struggling,” Horwitz said.
The last few weeks have been essential for these organizations to adapt their methods and come up with ways to meet the growing demand for their services.
Over the next few weeks, the amount of people needing food will likely continue to grow—but Horwitz is confident there is enough infrastructure in place at this point to make sure the need can be sufficiently met.
“I do think that we’re at a position and a time where coming together, though we know this is going to be a long-term crisis, we really are putting the foundation in place so we can address the needs of our neighbors,” Horwitz said.
Photo via PORCH.
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