Advocacy

In the 15 counties that Food Bank of the Albemarle serves in Northeastern NC, 1 in 7 of our neighbors are food insecure. These are our friends, co-workers, and family that don’t know where their next meal might come from.

As the cost of food, housing, utilities and other necessities continue to rise, we are seeing record increases in people coming to food pantries.

Together, we have a collective voice and action to change the state of hunger. Our non-partisan advocacy efforts push for policy that give our neighbors choice (SNAP) and have access to nutritious food through the The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).

Federal nutrition benefits lift millions of families and individuals out of poverty, alleviate food insecurity, and have positive economic impact in the communities we serve.

The Food Bank operates U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition programs such as TEFAP, SNAP, CSFP, and childhood nutrition programs.

Through the budget process and other actions, the Food Bank advocates for the protection, and where warranted, expansion, of these programs to support individuals and families most at risk of being food insecure.

Local Food Donations & Purchasing

The Food Bank network distributes over 8 million pounds of food each year.

This is only possible thanks to the generosity and commitments of our local farmers and growers to provide nutritious food as donations and through low-cost purchase programs. This requires policies and regulations that support our local farmers in promoting sustainability and continuing the pipeline of surplus food coming to the Food Bank. We work to secure state and federal investments in our local agriculture that help offset the costs to grow, harvest and transport this important food.

We need you to advocate with our local and state legislators to keep this funding and food flowing through our network, so that our communities have access to the most nutritious local food possible.