The federal government is a dumpster ?. The NCGA is terrifying.
Local is where we can move quickly, help our community thrive, and track our progress.
It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we work together. And we’re going to work together on this: PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro needs $10,000 to bridge a significant gap in food donations during the summer months. This donation button goes directly to PORCH:
PORCH moved in to a dedicated spot in Carrboro in November of 2024, and it has been amazing! Before, they were somewhat itinerant, and operated from occasional days at Extraordinary Ventures and at parking lots. PORCH collects food from 120 Neighborhoods and serves 500-520 families, and operating that way for 10 years has worked, but has made it difficult or impossible to provide refrigerated items, like meats or eggs.
Now the ask. The summer months are always especially challenging for PORCH. School is out, and some of the meals the participants children depend on at school are gone. A lot of the school based infrastructure is disrupted a little as families often go out of town during the summer. So neighborhood collections can go down. This really powerful article last summer in IndyWeek about food insecurity in Chapel Hill and Carrboro is worth reading. PORCH anticipates even larger shortages in June and July.
We can help PORCH and ensure that families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro are not going hungry this summer.
Here’s what we’re going to do.
You (and we) are going to donate money to PORCH to fill the significant gap in food donations during the summer months and make sure all referred families to PORCH can receive healthy food this upcoming school year. This donation button goes directly to PORCH:
Tell me more
Each June, food donations go down in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. This is bad timing. Kids are out of school and families struggle more in summer months to provide full, nutritious meals for their children. We have illustrated this here:
And then each August, social workers across our school district refer new kids and families to PORCH. PORCH provides families with monthly distribution of a variety of fresh food – like milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables – and makes sure that students have healthy snacks at schools.
$10,000 will help PORCH bridge the significant gap in food donations during the summer months. It will allow them to provide all the families they serve with a full bag of pantry staples each month – matching donations to families who need them. Here’s what that will look like.
Goodby Box, hello self service
PORCH used to provide a full bag of nonperishable groceries, a 25 lb box of produce, gallon of milk, 2 dozen eggs, and gift card to each of the 663 families they work with every month. Now, the participants can visit their location and select the items specific to their families needs!
What will PORCH do with $10,000 from blogbloggers?
PORCH is a partner agency with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, which means they purchase much-needed items below retail prices. They can stretch our financial donation to ensure greater access to pantry staples and fresh, healthy food for our families over the summer months.
What if we raise more than $10,000?
PORCH will also be able to provide additional hearty snack packs– think tuna salad packets with crackers – during the summer.
And PORCH will be able to say YES to more families who are referred this fall, thanks to TBB readers. Each additional $100 feeds another family each month. Each additional $1200 feeds another family for the entire year (bag of groceries, box of produce, gift card, gallon of milk, and 2 dozen eggs).
“Our goal is to avoid a waitlist, and we’d love if TBB readers who are also passionate about helping our community could help us do that!” says Erin Riney, executive director of PORCH.
Are you benefiting financially from this?
No, not at all. We’re all currently curled up in fetal positions and clicking the New York Times liveblog every 3 minutes which isn’t healthy – this effort has allowed us to think creatively about how to help at the local level, and to do something that actually feels meaningful and doable.
Doing meaningful small actionable things at the local level gives you agency and also feels really good. Please donate and help us bridge the gap between low donations and high need over the summer months. Your support will make an immediate impact in the lives of our neighbors!
How else can I help?
PORCH operates in 120 neighborhoods in Chapel Hill. Each neighborhood has a coordinator that arranges monthly pickups. All you have to do is place the needed items on your from porch (get it? PORCH) and they will do the rest. You can also volunteer your time helping sort and stock shelves. It’s a great place for older children and high schoolers to spend some time serving their community. Look here for more details