It was an unseasonably cold spring morning, but three North Carolina lawmakers braved the chill to have a slice of quiche and a cup of coffee from our Spinning Plate food truck. It was parked at the Food Shuttle farm, where vegetables were beginning to poke their heads out of the soil.
Last month, food banks from around the state invited state lawmakers to tour our facilities. Our invitation list included all members of the North Carolina General Assembly who represent constituents in our seven-county service area. Part of Feeding the Carolinas’ Impact Tour, the event recognized the role that funding from state appropriations plays in our work.
Representative Julie von Haefen, Representative Maria Cervania and Representative Sarah Crawford joined our president and CEO along with a few members of our team, and the talk turned to food insecurity in our state.
We shared with our guests the persistence of hunger in North Carolina. According to the USDA, 10.7% of North Carolinians experienced food insecurity between 2020 and 2022. One in six are children – that’s over 350,000 kids in our state who have to worry, occasionally or chronically, about whether their family will have enough food.
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle distributed over 10 million pounds of food in the last fiscal year through food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens located throughout our service area. But the challenge is ever greater as food costs shoot up – ours by more than 420% since 2019.
During our conversation, we asked our lawmakers to continue funding our food banks and to call on us for information and support as they address the root causes of food insecurity in business that comes before them at the state legislature. And we shared with them how we are standing behind our food insecure neighbors, who have strengths, dreams, and goals, to ease hunger and offer paths to self-sufficiency. In addition to daily food distributions, we are seeking to address root causes through innovative programs designed to improve skills, improve health, and to provide workforce development and educational opportunities for folks at risk of food insecurity.
For example, our CAP program combines professional development and mentorship with hands-on training to help unemployed or under-employed neighbors find careers in the vibrant local culinary industry. We work with organizations like TROSA and Healing Transitions to connect with candidates who can most benefit from this program.
We closed the morning with a tour of our farm. At the Food Shuttle’s 14-acre farm, we use regenerative organic practices to grow local produce for our neighbors experiencing hunger and food insecurity. In 2023, we harvested and donated over 34,000 pounds of fresh produce grown at our farm. We compost any harvested produce that is unfit for safe consumption.
Over 95 percent of our harvested produce is donated through our distribution and culinary programs, our Culinary Apprenticeship Program, and The Spinning Plate food truck, providing the freshest produce possible to our neighbors. The remaining 5% percent of our crops are sold to the public at our onsite Farm Stand, with proceeds reinvesting in Food Shuttle programs.
Look for the announcement of our Farm Stand opening soon and come visit! We appreciate the interest of our public officials and would love to show you around as well.