One-day food drive to help feed Mooresville residents in need

Summer can be a critical time for struggling families. With students out of school, many who rely on free or reduced meals are now not guaranteed meals for breakfast and lunch.

FeedNC wants to ensure its shelves are stocked this summer to provide for those in need. The Mooresville nonprofit is hosting a one-day canned food drive on June 20.

“This is always the toughest season for FeedNC to keep our shelves stocked, as people start taking vacations and so on, coupled with the fact that schools are out and children needing more meals cooked at home,” said Lara Ingram FeedNC executive director.

Canned foods and nonperishable items can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to noon at FeedNC located at 275 South Broad Street.

“We’re an organization that’s supported by the great people of our community,” Ingram said. “The way we come together to try and ensure nobody goes hungry is an incredible thing to see.”

The economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic have played a detrimental role in the growing food insecurities in Charlotte and surrounding areas.

“Over the course of the last few months, with more people facing job loss and school systems being shut down due to [the] coronavirus, demand for healthy food to feed local families has been up by 164%,” Ingram said.

FeedNC focuses on ending the cycle of hunger and poverty in the Lake Norman area. Since March 13, the organization has provided “the equivalent of $582,824 worth of groceries” to neighbors affected by the pandemic.

“Our supply has been depleted over the last three months and we are working to be prepared for an additional increase in need as many families transition off of unemployment in the coming months,” Ingram said.

FeedNC is one of many organizations working to support those in need of food, financial and housing assistance.

Over the next month, Crisis Assistance Ministry expects an unprecedented emergency for our neighbors who have lost their jobs or had their work hours cut amid the crunching economic downturn, and due to the financial repercussions and disasters the virus has caused people.

Crisis Assistance Ministry provides assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis, helping them move toward self-sufficiency.

The combination of difficulties people have paying rent, mortgages, utility payments, spikes in foreclosures and evictions, asserting tenant's rights, homelessness, and a second wave of the coronavirus this winter will be a heavy weight on tens of thousands of families.

WSOC-TV has launched 9 Crisis Help in response. The funds collected will go directly to Crisis Assistance Ministry to help people pay essential bills.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW TO 9 CRISIS HELP.

If you have an inspiring story to share, email Sinead Taylor, WSOC-TV community affairs specialist, at Sinead.Taylor@wsoc-tv.com.

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