As the population of Chatham County continues to grow, CORA, or the Chatham Outreach Alliance, is looking to increase the services it provides to food-insecure residents. But threats to federal funding may hinder its goals.

Melissa Driver Beard, the executive director of CORA, and Rebecca Hankins, the development and communications director, recently sat down with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck for a conversation about these developments.

“Last year we saw a 40% increase in the request for food assistance,” said Beard. “We’re on track to see a 20% increase on top of that this year.”

In terms of real numbers, Beard says that translates to an increase from 91,000 requests to 120,000. To help meet that figure, they decided to open a second Chatham County location by merging with another food pantry.

“Effective July 1, we’ll be taking over and setting up our second choice pantry at the former West Chatham Food Pantry site in Siler City,” said Beard. A second choice pantry allows individuals to select their own food, rather than receiving a pre-packaged selection. Hankins said that CORA will continue to provide the services of the West Chatham Food Pantry but with increased resources.

“One of the reasons they came to us is that they knew that the need is so great that an all volunteer organization just doesn’t have the capacity to serve the numbers that are there in that community,” she added.

Cora’s main pantry, located in Pittsboro, allows for choice shopping Mondays through Thursdays before allowing drive-thru pick-ups on Fridays. The pantry location in Siler City will featured a similar operation. (Photo via CORA on Facebook.)

However, the expansion comes at the same times as federal funding cuts to food assistance programs.

“At CORA we have already lost about $313,000 worth of food,” the executive director said. “We’ve participated historically in the local food purchase assistance program that enables food pantries like ours, school systems, and other groups to purchase food locally from local farmers. We’ve lost a $48,000 grant that would enable us to do that. We also participate in a USDA program called the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Our allocation of food coming from that program will be cut by about 70%, which will be an over $200,000 loss of food for us.”

She explained how these cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration will impact a number of areas.

“That means that farmers aren’t getting the funding that they need to grow crops,” Beard said. “It means that pantries and food banks like us aren’t getting the food that we need to give to the people that we serve. And it means that the people that we serve in a time where prices on literally everything are increasing, may be taking home less food.”

Hankins says the items that food-insecure individuals and families need the most aren’t preserved or non-perishable goods.

“When families come to see us, they’re not looking for canned Campbell soup as much as they are cabbage and potatoes and carrots,” she said. “It’s the fresh produce and the protein.”

Beard said that the best way people can help is the same way they’ve always been able to help.

“Food and funds — the same things that we always need,” she said. “We really encourage people to give in a way that’s most meaningful to them. We can always use food with individual donations. But we also need funding.”

You can learn more about CORA’s work or make a donation at the nonprofit’s website.

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