Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is striving to meet increased demands for food. Across North Carolina, the average cost of a single meal for food insecure individuals rose to $4.07, up 10.2% over the prior year, the agency said. (Photos by Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald) CHARLOTTE — Summer means fun, rest and vacations for many, but it can be a difficult time for families dealing with food insecurity and for nonprofits such as Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte that provide food aid at a time when federal funding for the poor is being reduced.
The key issue is that with schools out, thousands of children lose access to daily meals, so the need for food assistance rises sharply.
This summer is proving especially challenging for Catholic Charities to meet those growing needs. There’s the seasonal increase in demand, rising food prices, added pressure from families still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene, and recent federal policy changes that have reduced the amount of food the agency gets from other local food banks whose federal funding has been cut, according to Catholic Charities officials.
As a result, Catholic Charities is urging people to make donations to help them continue to alleviate hunger across western North Carolina this summer.
“When school cafeterias close, many children lose access to reliable meals – and that puts added strain on parents already struggling to make ends meet,” said Charlotte
Regional Director Debra Lemmon. “Nearly one in six Mecklenburg County households – about 12% – don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and child food insecurity is even higher at nearly 18%. At the same time, food donations tend to drop during the summer months. Every donation of food, funds or time helps us provide hope and nourishment to families facing hunger.”
In 2024, Catholic Charities distributed 556,341 pounds of food and 16,346 pounds of everyday essentials to more than 16,000 families through its three regional offices.
In Charlotte, Catholic Charities’ primary food supplier Second Harvest Food Bank has halved its donations – forcing Catholic Charities to buy essential items they previously received for free, Lemmon said. At the same time, local pantries, including Nourish Up, have reported a 19% increase in clients served year-over-year.
Catholic Charities is spending close to $20,000 a month on food to meet demand, Lemmon said.
The impact of these cuts is significant because the Charlotte regional office consistently serves the most clients. Open twice a week, the Charlotte food pantry located inside the Diocesan Pastoral Center is one of the few in the area that regularly offers protein-rich items including meat and chicken.
Catholic Charities’ regional office in Asheville is still dealing with ongoing challenges related to the unprecedented damage from Tropical Storm Helene, according to Regional Director Jesse Boeckermann. The storm destroyed MANNA Food Bank, their major source of food supplies, and devastated many local farms that were a source of fresh produce. The office continues to not only respond to clients affected by the storm, but also to those who are struggling with seasonal food insecurity.
Making access to food more difficult for many families, grocery stores in several communities in western North Carolina, including Swannanoa, have still not reopened.
“If you’re recovering from Helene and still paying off a roof repair or a car repair, or dealing with lost wages, all of that adds up,” Boeckermann said.
Catholic Charities’ Winston-Salem food pantry, which serves the Triad, was recently closed for two weeks because of parking lot repaving. As it prepares to reopen, the agency expects the usual spike in demand because of summer needs, according to Regional Director Mary Beth Marquard. Her office is seeing fewer donations from Second
Harvest in the same way Charlotte has, and a store where they sourced food donations also recently closed, Marquard said. She is communicating with nearby parishes, the source of many donations, to let them know about their increased summer needs.
— Christina Lee Knauss
How can you help?
- Food donations are always needed, especially non-perishables and items high in protein. At this time of year, the food pantries particularly welcome food items that young people can make at home themselves – such as individual serving cups of macaroni and cheese, individually wrapped snacks, cereal bars and juice boxes.
- Non-food items – including diapers, baby wipes, toiletries, laundry detergent, hygiene products and paper products such as toilet paper – are also always needed. Reach out to local offices for summer donation hours: Charlotte: 1123 S. Church St., 704-370-3262; Winston-Salem: 1612 East 14th St., 336-727-0705; Asheville: 50 Orange St., 828-255-0146.
- Monetary donations are extremely helpful because they enable Catholic Charities to buy items that people need most at that moment. You can make donations to Catholic Charities’ food pantries program by giving online at www.ccdoc.org/give or via check (made payable to CCDOC or Catholic Charities with “Food Pantry” in the memo line). Donations stay local based on the donor’s ZIP code.