North Carolina has historically been one of the hungriest states in the U.S. Prior to the pandemic, Feeding America reported that 1,456,200 North Carolinians were struggling with hunger, including 443,040 children. That means 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children were struggling with food insecurity. Since the pandemic began, the need has only gotten worse. Feeding the Carolinas estimates that the number of clients served by our state’s food banks has increased more than 30 percent. That means 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children are currently struggling with food insecurity.
Before the pandemic, our local food bank in Charlotte, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, routinely served over 553,000 (about 1/3 of all North Carolinians struggling with hunger) including 182,000 children and almost 48,000 seniors. Since March 2020 when the pandemic hit, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina has distributed over 21.5 million more pounds of food than the previous year; served over 40,000 families at school-based mobile pantries; provided over 500,000 nutritionally balanced food boxes; and distributed almost 17.5 million more pounds of fresh produce, meat and dairy products than last year during the same timeframe.
Many of us have been fortunate to feel very little impact over the past year, particularly in comparison to many of our neighbors. Gardner Skelton is proud to partner with the NC Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Feeding the Carolinas, and the NC Attorney General’s Office to feed our neighbors in need. Historically, the Legal Feeding Frenzy (LFF) is a competition for the legal community across North Carolina to raise the most money and food for local food banks. While the LFF is fun and can be highly competitive, this year’s efforts prove invaluable. Food insecure communities across the nation and in our own backyard continue to be disproportionately impacted by the systemic shutdowns over the past year. We’d love for you to join our efforts in the fight against hunger and help us reach our goal to raise $7,500. For every $1 we raise, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina can distribute 4-5 meals into our community.
To donate through Team Gardner Skelton, click here. Online donations will be accepted through March 31, 2021.