The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s mission is a simple one: “No One Goes Hungry in Central & Eastern North Carolina.”
So, what does that look like? Well, this past Thursday, a group of us here at Lulu went out to their Durham location and learned that a big part of solving the hunger crisis in North Carolina is putting ingredient labels on juice pouches and sorting ugly potatoes into bags.
This is not the first time we’ve made a trip out to Bull City for the Food Drive. Veteran potato sorters Luise, Renata and Karine of Lulu’s international team have already served their time among the roots.
So, what was their advice for newbies? Bring gloves.
The Durham Branch services 6 of the surrounding counties in North Carolina. We learned that the area surrounding the headquarters is a food desert. Not a literal, Fear and Loathing-style desert, but an urban area with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. What does that look like? It looks like a neighborhood where the only two places within walking distance where you can buy groceries are gas stations. Great for buying slushies, less good for feeding a family.
So, the Food Bank steps in. They make sure that families in areas like this have access to the kind of nutrition that should be a basic human right for families living in the US. And yet, according to Feeding America, 1 in 7 people struggles with hunger. The estimated cost to solve this crisis is around $735,321,000, but volunteer work can help offset that cost.
And you can help! Whether that’s donating to the local food bank or going in and slapping ingredient labels on juice pouches. Why were we doing that, by the way? For allergen-awareness: a life-giving juice pouch is not going to do a lot of good if the child consuming it is allergic to one of the ingredients. So, if you want to make a difference, but ain’t got the coin, find your local food bank and help out!
Also, are you looking for a substitute to fill the void left on your doormat after canceling your subscription to Amazon Prime? Get ugly (but no less nutritious or tasty) fruits and veggies delivered to your door with Misfits Market.
