Pender County non-profits working to address food insecurity

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — More than 10 percent of households in the United States were food insecure at some point in 2021, according to the USDA.

In Pender County, the food insecurity rate currently sits at 14 percent. Share the Table is an organization working to address food insecurity in Pender and Onslow Counties.

“Food insecurity is a household’s lack of being able to provide food for healthy and active lifestyles,” Share the Table Executive Director Dawn Ellis said.

The non-profit serves about 1,000 people per week through its food pantry, backpack program, and a community meal.

“Lots of people are just one paycheck, one tragedy away from being food insecure,” Ellis said. “If they’re living paycheck to paycheck and that happens then they’re going to be in a situation where they need help so we’re just happy to be here to be able to help them.”

Share the Table was recently awarded grant funding from The Cannon Foundation to support its expansion. The funding will be used toward the construction, purchase of furniture, and purchase of equipment for a new, larger facility.

The facility will include the Share the Table Learning Center, a dedicated room that will be used for classes and educational sessions on nutrition and cooking classes.

“We really want to help the families and people that we serve learn about healthy food options. We want that to be key to what we do here,” Ellis said. “Not only offering those options but let them know how to prepare them.”

Share the Table partners with other groups like Pender County Christian Services, which served more than 19,000 families in 2022.

“It’s a process that’s growing, we are growing. What we’re trying to do is find the resources to make sure that no one in Pender County goes hungry,” PCCS Executive Director Sandy Harris said.

As more people move to the area and inflation drives prices higher, Harris says PCCS is continuing to see more people in need — particularly those in the working class.

“All these things — having children, car payments, house payments, insurance. A lot of them are struggling to make ends meet and they come for extra help to be able to feed their families,” Harris said.

PCCS is a nonprofit food pantry, clothing distribution center, and disaster relief agency. If someone is hungry and visits PCCS when its doors are open, Harris says they do not turn anyone away. They ask for an ID to register, but your information will be kept confidential.