Latest / What’s Up, Wake / Feeding NC: Amy Beros of Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Fights to End Hunger
Transcript
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Rescue Wood Rehab is more than wood, it's an experience. rwrnc.com. [00:01:24] Melissa: Today we're talking about something that touches every community, every neighborhood, and sometimes people we know personally: hunger. For over 45 years, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina has been working to make sure that people across our region have access to the food they need, and behind that mission is a team of people working every day to address not only immediate hunger, but the bigger challenges that contribute to food and security. Today, I'm joined by Amy Barrows, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Amy brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to the organization's mission, and I'm looking forward to talking to her about the state of hunger in our community, who is most affected, how the food bank gets food from its warehouses to families who need it, and what all of us can do to help. Welcome, Amy. [00:02:16] Amy Beros: Thank you. [00:02:16] Melissa: Thank you so much for being here today. I wanna start out b- with the fact that the Food Bank of Eastern, E- Eastern and Central North Carolina, I was telling you as you came in- ... that's a, that's a tongue twister. I should have come up with some sort of acronym before you got here. But it was founded in 1980 here in Cary. [00:02:35] Amy Beros: It was. [00:02:36] Melissa: Can you tell us w- how that came about, and was there a particular need at that time? [00:02:43] Amy Beros: There was. It was founded by a woman who is still involved today- Oh, is she really? ... an incredible human, Barbara Oates. [00:02:49] Melissa: Oh, [00:02:49] Amy Beros: great. And she had two small children at the time, and her mom worked helped at the soup kitchen in Raleigh, and they were in deep need of food. And there was a food bank movement happening kind of across the country, and so Barbara's mom said, "I need you to learn more." And, and Barbara worked learned from folks across the country and gathered folks here in the Triangle who were interested in supporting and, and that's how the food bank came to start, and it was because of rising food insecurity. And there, we knew that there were retailers, food retailers, manufacturers, and farmers who had food that was still good that they weren't able to sell, and the food bank helped create that bridge and that connector to bringing that food to families in need. Um, so today we are much larger. Our headquarters is in Raleigh. We now serve 34 counties out of the hundred in North Carolina through six different sites, and unfortunately, that's because the need has continued to rise over and over. But it started with a card table and a phone from Barbara's garage here in Cary, and a group of, a small group of dedicated volunteers that's built it into what it is today. [00:04:02] Melissa: That's incredible that, You know, I, I guess I think about organizations like this, and you never really think about the origin story. And to know that one person can make such a difference over so many decades is really, I mean, it's, it's, it's inspiring for more of us to be involved with something like that. [00:04:21] Amy Beros: It is. I always laugh when, when Barbara and I talk because the story makes me giggle as a, as a mom. Um, she was a stay-at-home mom. She was previously a dental hygienist, and she had two kids, and her mom said, "Barbara, you don't have nough- anything going on, and I need you to do something." Oh, yeah. And so with her kids, you know and, and mostly rooms of men, um, Barbara stood up and stood the very first food bank up in North Carolina. We are the oldest one in North Carolina. [00:04:48] Melissa: That's incredible. Well, thank you, Barbara, for everything you have done for the community. How did you become involved with the Food Bank? [00:04:55] Amy Beros: So I grew up in South Carolina, um, in Anderson, South Carolina, and my earliest memories are volunteering with a local food pantry Good Neighbor Cupboard in Anderson. And so I, I did not realize there was a larger hunger relief network at the time. Um, but I, from classic car shows and selling raffle tickets to raise money to passing out food, that's what my family did. And when and I just knew it was neighbors needed to help neighbors. And I moved here 17 years ago and, and then started the work professionally. I actually started volunteering with Meals on Wheels Wake County, and then learned about the Food Bank network. And, and so I've been working in it ever since. [00:05:38] Melissa: And I'm excited to talk to you about the partnerships that you mentioned earlier. Um, but first, I want to talk about the state of hunger in our community. As we all know, grocery prices have gone up. It seems to go up every time I even go to the grocery store. Um- How much has that impacted hunger in our community? What kind of changes have you seen in recent years? [00:06:06] Amy Beros: Unfortunately, every year it's gone up. We are actually seeing a hunger crisis right now that we have not seen in more than a generation. It's higher than it was at the height of COVID, and, and it continues to rise. W- I've visited all 34 counties and partners in every county, and every partner I have visited, we work with about 700 food partners, so those are the local food pantries, meal sites, soup kitchens, every single one said they're seeing new faces for every distribution. Um, and these are working families that just the math doesn't work at the end of the month. We're hearing more and more grandparents who are taking care of their grandchildren, and our seniors who did everything right, and the money just can't stretch enough on these fixed incomes because everything's higher. It's groceries, it's gas, it's healthcare, it's housing, especially here in the Triangle. Housing is just continuing to rise, but wages are not rising at the same wa- rate, and the, the math just doesn't work. [00:07:04] Melissa: Yeah. The math isn't mathing, for sure. Now, this episode is coming out in September, and school has just got started. So one thing I want to talk about is, um, hunger and our children, um, families that have children. I have always learned about how, um- Food insecurity really increases over the summer months- Mm-hmm ... because the kids are not getting the, the standard meals that they're getting every day at school. How do you see the fall and winter months as far as families with young children? D- are there any changes as far as the food bank goes? [00:07:48] Amy Beros: Yeah, summer is very hard. You're putting 10 extra meals on the table every day for each of your children. Mm. And, it, it's a time when we're really ramping up. We had over 70 sites across our service area for summer f- food programs. Um, the same thing happens during the school year. Those children, thankfully, are able to get that breakfast and lunch at school, but we work with schools really closely to provide that weekend meal, those evening meals as well. So the, we switch from our summer food programs to our school year programs at the food bank during the, the school year. But the winter and holidays, it's again, kids are out of school. Mm. Um, the same thing, people are worried about now they have rising heat bills, and they're trying to- Yeah ... pay different types of bills. So anytime kid's out of school is a, a deep increase. It's one in five children in our area. And, and I think that's what I hear sometimes is, "Well, I don't know anyone who's hungry." You do. You do. You just don't know they are. [00:08:45] Melissa: Yes, yes, exactly. It's not something that they're going around, you know, holding a poster saying- Absolutely not ... "I'm hungry," or, "I have food insecurity." [00:08:53] Amy Beros: No, it is so hard to ask for help. I mean, I know just personally to ask for help for something simple, it can be hard. Yeah. Because we, we're independent, and to be able to ask for help when you're in need of food or can't provide food for your family is incredibly difficult. So our goal and what we do with all of our pantries is to make sure that we are training folks to make sure we're providing the most dignified and low-barrier access to food, because we want to be there alongside people, 'cause everybody needs help. [00:09:22] Melissa: How, do you guys work directly with the school system? Are, are you- Mm-hmm ... in a partnership with them in some way? How does that work? [00:09:29] Amy Beros: We do. We do work w- directly with schools from elementary to high schools, and we also work with several colleges, universities, as well as community colleges to have pantries. Oh, I [00:09:37] Melissa: wouldn't have even thought about that. Yeah. But that, I mean, it, it's not like the food insecurity stops. [00:09:42] Amy Beros: No. Mm-hmm. Um, I was actually at one of our community college pantries and recently, and I met a student, and he had just enrolled in their EMT program, and he and his sister live together to try to consolidate expenses because housing is so expensive, and she has two teenagers, and she lost her job that week. And he said, "I had no idea how we were gonna put food on the table for them this week- Mm ... until I heard about this pantry." [00:10:07] Melissa: Let's talk about a typical day at the food bank. W- what, what does your day look like as far as warehouses, as far as receiving food disbursement of food? How... Tell me a typical day. [00:10:21] Amy Beros: Oh, I don't know that there is a typical day. Um, we are a huge logistics organization, so we're moving 100 million pounds of food each year. Um- Wow ... and we don't actually know what food we're getting and when we're getting it. So- [00:10:33] Melissa: That's one of my questions. Yes, because that, I mean, does that change drastically week to week? [00:10:39] Amy Beros: It does. It does. So we are always working with every grocery store, um, every food retailer, manufacturer in our area, and, and they're incredibly generous. I mean, Food Lion has been a partner with us for over 30 years, and out of that 100 million pounds of food, 13 million pounds came from Food Lion stores in our area last year. [00:10:58] Melissa: Really? [00:10:59] Amy Beros: So- [00:10:59] Melissa: I always see at Food Lion that they have, you know, signs or a part, um, a section of the store at the, at the front of the store that's for donations and things like that. Yeah. But it's so good to know that it really is making such a big difference. [00:11:11] Amy Beros: Yes. When you go into the grocery store and you see those partnerships, that food is coming, is staying in your community, so that, where that grocery store is, they are partnered with a local pantry, and we're getting that food right back out into the community, or those funds to purchase food. So we, our, our purchasing food budget has increased drastically over the past decade just because as, as retailers and our manufacturers get more efficient, donation opportunities go down. Um, but we work with about 90 farmers as well. 50, over 50% of what we provide each year is fresh produce and protein. We are trying to make sure it's not just about getting any food out into the community. It's about getting the food that neighbors are asking for, which we hear across the board more produce and protein, more eggs. And, and so we use our purchasing dollars to make sure we're getting more of that food in. And also investing in North Carolina agriculture, which has had some trying times recently as well. Mm-hmm. And so we have food coming in from all areas. And, and sometimes, you know, many days we're getting a call in the middle of the day of, "Hey, I got a truckload of strawberries. If you can be here today, you can have it." And so we are rerouting our trucks to get that truckload of strawberries and get it immediately out. So it's, it's kind of an episode of Chopped. We don't know what's coming in- Mm-hmm ... but we have to figure out how to get it in, um, help people make a meal out of it, so providing recipes and nutrition education as well, and getting it immediately out into the community because we're not getting food that has a long shelf life typically. [00:12:41] Melissa: Yeah, and you said strawberries. That's where my mind immediately went. I know that every time I buy strawberries, it sits in the fridge for two days, and I look at it, and I have to- ... toss it out, and it's, I mean, it's just sad but true. It's, it's that meme that I, "I wish I was the person that I was when I bought all this produce." Yes. Because of that fast turnaround, you're gonna get a load of strawberries, your trucks are rerouted to go pick it up. Are they then just dispersed to all different types of soup kitchens around and food pantries around the area? Is that- Yep ... it's just that fast? [00:13:17] Amy Beros: It is. It is that fast. We, the attorney general was with us this week because there was, um, the price fixing with eggs. There was a lawsuit across the country- Mm ... for egg manufacturers. So, um, because of that, three million eggs are coming to North Carolina food banks. So those are, we received our first shipment of eggs, about 270,000 eggs this week. Um, within the next day they were on trucks going into the community. [00:13:41] Melissa: Then let's talk about the next step. It's in the food pan- pantries, in the soup kitchens, but I would think that one of the bigger obstacles would be the person that needs it being able to get to the location to get it, having the access, because we really don't have a big infrastructure here for, for public, um, what is the word? Transportation. Transportation. Yeah. That's just a long word that I could not come up with. Um, but so i- is that one of the hurdles you guys have is, is people being able to get to the food [00:14:19] Amy Beros: pantries? Ac- there is enough food in this country, and certainly in an ag-rich state like North Carolina- Mm-hmm ... to make sure there's no hunger. It's about the access and resources- Mm-hmm ... to be able to, to get the food. Um, so yes, transportation is difficult, and that is why our partner network is so intentional. Um, these are organizations that are embedded into the community, so many folks are able to walk if they are not able to ride. Okay. We also have a number of our partners, and, and we provide support in this as well, of doing direct home deliveries, especially for our seniors who are not able to get out. So- [00:14:53] Melissa: Is that like Meals on Wheels? [00:14:55] Amy Beros: It is, but it's not prepared meals. We're prepar- we're s- sharing the- Oh, just the food [00:14:59] Melissa: itself ... [00:15:00] Amy Beros: the food. Yes. [00:15:00] Melissa: Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay. [00:15:01] Amy Beros: So we really try to meet people where they are and, and reduce the barriers as much as possible. So we are always looking at our partner network to see if there's any gaps. Are there communities that are being underserved? How can we recruit new partners there- Mm-hmm ... or support our partners in expanding to that area so that we do have equitable access, especially in our more rural communities, too. [00:17:01] Melissa: to dive a little bit deeper into the partnership aspect, um, I'm very curious about how that works. Let- let's- let's start with, um, I guess we'll start with the farmers. We are, we are a very, um, rich state, like you mentioned, with our ag industry, um, and in terms of how- the vast amount of things that we do grow. Let's say sweet potatoes. We have a lot of sweet potatoes. Do the farmers donate the sweet potatoes, or are you buying them from the farmers? How d- how does that work? [00:17:36] Amy Beros: All of the above. Um, and we are fondly known as the sweet potato food bank in the, the food bank network because of the, the the love of sweet potatoes here, and we get to share those with other food banks. So, um, there's a lot of, there's a lot that takes place when I say it's complex logistics. It really is. Um, so it's all of the above. We have farmers who donate to us. Um, we have farmers who we purchase from. We actually have a farmer who's growing 300 acres specifically for the food bank. Um, and so it's, it's different types of partnerships that make it possible to get the amount of food in we need. Typically, we are, we are not paying retail prices or even wholesale prices. Um, it's, it's food that the farmers would not even take out of the ground because they have harvested what they need, and we pay just to get that food harvested and then into the community. So it's otherwise it would just go back into the soil. Mm. And so we have a lot of different ways we partner to be able to try to get the amount of food we need to meet the need. And then, as I shared, you know, we are known as the sweet potato food bank and also the pickle food bank, thanks to Mount Olive Pickle. A food bank is as rich as its service area. And so we work really closely with other food banks like the food bank in Asheville, Manna Food Bank. And they have, you know, a wealth of apples, so we can share sweet potatoes to get apples from [00:18:51] Melissa: them. Oh, it's a- And- ... a trading system ... [00:18:52] Amy Beros: so that we can have more diversity, too, with what we're providing. [00:18:55] Melissa: Oh, that makes perfect sense. But a- again, it's not something that I would think about because I'm not involved with it. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. We, we often talk about food insecurity in terms of numbers, how many people need food, how many meals are distributed, but behind these numbers is a person and a family. So- I'm imagining that there might be a lot of misconceptions about food insecurity, and I'm wondering what you wish people would understand and make m- a little bit more clear about any misconceptions about food insecurity. [00:19:33] Amy Beros: Yeah. Reducing the stigma is something that is, is huge that we need to do, and, and I wish more of our elected leaders remembered that there's humans behind these numbers- Yeah especially as the resources have been cut so drastically in the past year and a half. I, I would say that it, it is people you know. It's one in seven people in our community. It's one in five children. These are people that are next to your child in school. They're next to you- Yeah ... at the gas station. These are your kids' [00:19:57] Melissa: friends. [00:19:58] Amy Beros: Absolutely, and you don't know, and you don't need to know. [00:20:00] Melissa: Yeah. [00:20:01] Amy Beros: Um, and I think the biggest misconception is, and I've heard it here in Cary many times, is there's not hunger in Cary. There is, you're not, you're just not aware of it. Mm. And it's not something that you're looking for because there is hunger in every single community here in the Triangle. There is and, and deep in, in many areas. And I think the stigma of it's people not working, it's people that don't care is absolutely not true. Mm-hmm. And if you go to any of our distributions and you see the families, you know how hard it is for them to admit that they need that help and how hard it is to come with your children. And I think what I see is, is beautiful and gives me hope as well. So many of our pantries, as they think about how to serve folks with dignity, you know, some of them are, are providing kids bags, so every kid gets their own special bag with some kids treats and some coloring books and things like that. So now kids are looking forward to going to a pantry versus dreading it, and really trying to make it an experience that is destigmatized. And so I just wish people would realize that you don't need to know who's hungry, but you need to be aware that it's in your community and, and the reasons. It's because it's working families almost... I mean, the vast majority of people who are accessing food resources have at least one working member in their home, and they just can't make the, the numbers work at the end of the month. I, I was talking with a senior. Her, her son died, and she now has access or, or custody of her two grandchildren. They're the same age as my children, and I know how hard it is to raise a 14 and a 16-year-old, and to be 80 trying to raise a 14- Yeah ... and a 16-year-old and now provide also food for them when I know how much they need to eat as well, that is so hard. Mm-hmm. And to ask for help to be able to do that. And, and she, when she was getting the food, she was so excited, and she said, "I'm gonna be back to volunteer." Mm. And that, that is the people in our community. They, they need help, and they want to give back to others at the same time. And it really is People you know. [00:22:05] Melissa: And speaking of volunteering, I, it, it's, it's such a, a big complicated issue, but as we're listening to it, and I'm, I'm sure my listeners are gonna feel the same, I'm, I always think to myself, "But what can I do? I'm just a regular person." So what can we do? How can we be involved? Do you have a, a large amount of volunteers, and where are the volunteers? Are they at the food bank? Are they at the k- soup kitchens? Are, are they at Every, all of these places, how, how do we get involved and help? [00:22:36] Amy Beros: Yes. I always say we're a community food bank. We don't open our doors any day of the week without hundreds of volunteers, food donors, fund donors, and our partners. Many of our partners are completely volunteer-run. These are faith you know, the church pantry, you know, faith-based entities that have built pantries, and it's, a- as well as individual nonprofits. Um, one of our, our biggest partners here, Neighbor Up in, in the Cary area, you know, they need volunteers. I interviewed [00:23:01] Melissa: him- [00:23:01] Amy Beros: Oh, fantastic ... not long ago, yes. Yes. They, you know, they need volunteers as well. So the food bank needs volunteers because our food needs to be sorted. That produce that's coming in is coming in in bulk for us and, and needs to be sorted because ma- not all of it is able to be served to neighbors. So we're sorting through to make sure we're giving the right food to neighbors and putting it into family-sized bags. So we're bagging those potatoes into a five-pound bag that can go to a family. Um, and all of that is touched by volunteers. We have about 70,000 individual volunteers each year that make- Wow the work happen. And so that's at our Raleigh site, it's at our Durham site- Yeah ... and then the pantries that are across the triangle. So if you go on our website, you can sign up easily. You can see what slots. We have volunteers Tuesday through Saturday, see what slots are available as well as go on our website and look at pantries. You can put in your zip code, find the pantries closest to to you, and reach out to them, um, and see what type of volunteer opportunities they have as well. So when people ask how to help, it is donate. We can make $1 go much further than a typical consumer. For every dollar that is provided at the food bank, we're able to put three meals into the community. It is to volunteer because we literally do not operate without volunteers- Mm-hmm ... nor do our partners, and it's advocate. Let your elected leaders know that this is a priority for you and your community and what, what is actually happening on the ground. [00:24:25] Melissa: That's a very good point that you're making because I on the list of volunteering and being involved, that's not something that came to mind- [00:24:33] Amy Beros: Yes [00:24:33] Melissa: the advocation part. [00:24:35] Amy Beros: Yeah, so on our website, you can, we have an advocacy page that talks about the different areas that, And, and it's very easy. You put in your address and your name, and w- it is connected to your elected leaders, and we have a templated email that you can send, and, and you can change it however you like. So it really can take less than two minutes for you to use your voice to all of your elected leaders, um, for SNAP. You know, making sure that we keep SNAP strong. For every one meal a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine. There is no way to fill the gap of SNAP if we do not have it. And it has, it has been on the chopping block. It's still on the chopping block to be cut. Um- Mm-hmm ... not completely, but to continue to limit the availability of SNAP in our community, and it is critical because we can't fill that gap if it is gone. And we saw that in the government shutdown and the increase in need across our service area. Um, it's child resources like the summer meals, like the school meal programs. We are always advocating to keep those strong in our communities. And currently, the Farm Bill at the federal level you know, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, as well as a f- a program that provides boxes of food for seniors each month. For our food bank, that's 9,000 seniors every month served through that program. That's all part of the Farm Bill at the federal level that is currently in a negotiation. So we need people's voices very loud right now. [00:25:56] Melissa: And here we are in election season, so it's the perfect time to reach out to- Yes ... our representatives, and maybe they'll be a little bit more responsive since it is election season. It [00:26:04] Amy Beros: does usually help. [00:26:05] Melissa: Yeah. Okay. So you are the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, and as you're talking about all the, the places that you serve, that is such a vast area. Um, where does, where do, where does your area extend? [00:26:21] Amy Beros: So essentially we're the triangle to the coast. We have facilities- That's a [00:26:24] Melissa: big region. [00:26:25] Amy Beros: It is, and, and that is one of the things that I did this past year. You know, I, I was at the food bank for five years, and then I, I, I went to Feeding America for five years at the national level- Mm ... always with the goal to come back in, in this role and to have learned from food banks across the country. So I came back to the food bank about a year and a half ago, and this past year my goal was to make it to every single county we serve, 'cause they're all different. Um, a- and hunger looks different in each of the communities. And, and so we, while we can't have 34 strategies for 34 counties, we do have to understand the communities and those needs so that we're able to tailor and make sure we have the right partners and we're getting the right food into those communities. So it is unique service area because it is very urban, very rural at the [00:27:10] Melissa: same time. Yes. That's what I'm thinking. Yeah. It's so mixed. Yeah, I mentioned transportation earlier, and, you know, transportation in, in Raleigh and Cary looks totally different than transportation in Washington, North Carolina, or- Yeah you know, a, a, a tiny farm, rural town. [00:27:25] Amy Beros: It absolutely does. Um, and, and the food access, the ... You know, I've been to so many of our counties that they have to drive two, three towns over to even get to a grocery store. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so that is something we're always looking at and making sure that we have the right partners so that we can have the best access possible in those communities. Um, but it is, it's tough. It's tough for our rural communities, much more so than, than our triangle, even though the, the population is so dense. Certainly the, the numbers are much higher in the triangle, but they're, everyone is facing their own challenges. [00:27:59] Melissa: That is very true. The n- the needs might be easier to meet here in terms of access. Mm-hmm. But it, it, it's just so different in, in each town. [00:28:09] Amy Beros: Yeah. [00:28:10] Melissa: You have a special month or something going on in September. Tell us what you guys have for September. [00:28:17] Amy Beros: Yeah, September is Hunger Action Month. So it is a, a national awareness month to bring more awareness to the hunger and the increasing hunger in our communities and to provide easy ways for folks to take action, um, and different ways for folks to give back. So we have a campaign called Plate It Forward that is happening where we have participating restaurants that are providing donations based on your purchase to the food bank and providing support back to the food bank through that, as well as we'll have a calendar on our website, so you can go on our website and see every day an easy way that you can take action, um, on hunger in your community. [00:28:56] Melissa: You do so much work with the food bank. You do so much work with our, with our community, and I thank you so much for that. But what gives you hope every day? [00:29:06] Amy Beros: It's our community. We live in an incredibly generous community, um, and seeing each day that neighbors are willing to help neighbors, especially in a time when everything feels divisive. And while we see a lot of hard at the food bank, for sure, we also get to see a lot of good- [00:29:25] Melissa: Mm-hmm ... [00:29:25] Amy Beros: and people saying, "I wanna help." And our youth in our community 100% gives me hope. I- [00:29:33] Melissa: Yeah, you have a lot of student volunteers. [00:29:35] Amy Beros: We do. So many schools. Um, I, I am meeting with a, a, a student in a couple of weeks who's done a campaign of the school lunch debt and, and the challenges that she's seen in her own school about kids getting refused, being able to go on skilled s- school field trips because they owe school lunch money and- Oh and what that's creating. We had some, some students in Raleigh, some high school students that won a national competition because of the documentary that they put together on food insecurity and solutions to food insecurity. So seeing that the generations beyond me and, and my kids' generation and knowing that they're going to continue to fight this, and I think fight it even better than we do now- Mm-hmm uh, definitely gives me hope every day. [00:30:23] Melissa: And kids look at things in a different way. [00:30:25] Amy Beros: Yes. [00:30:25] Melissa: So it, it, it does d- give you a different perspective. [00:30:29] Amy Beros: Absolutely. [00:30:30] Melissa: Tell our listeners how they can learn more about your mission and how to be involved. [00:30:35] Amy Beros: All right. Our website is foodbankcenc.org. I encourage everyone to go on there and, and see what fits for what you're looking for, whether that's volunteering, whether it's giving a donation, whether that is using your voice to advocate or ideally all of the above. And, and just sharing. Follow us on our social media and help share and spread the word so that there is more awareness about what is happening and the need for our neighbors. [00:31:01] Melissa: Thank you again so much for being here, and thank you big time for everything you do. [00:31:05] Amy Beros: Thank you.