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Community Support Needed for Hospitality House and Second Harvest Food Bank Matching Funds Challenge

June 4, 2014. Hospitality House is pleased to be among 30 food assistance organizations across Northwest North Carolina each selected to receive up to $500 in matching funds through a challenge grant opportunity provided by Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.

“The need in our community is great and continues to grow,” said Allison Jennings, Hospitality House Food and Nutrition Coordinator.

“We are asking everyone with the means to make a gift, however great or small, to help us reach our goal of raising $500 by June 6, 2014. A gift of $5 will become $10 through Second Harvest Food Bank’s Matching Grant program and help us to provide critical nutritional support for our neighbors in need.”

imgres“Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC is proud to partner with more than 400 charitable food assistance programs across 18 counties to provide food and other resources to address the significant problem of hunger in our region,” said Nikki McCormick, Director of Agency Relations.

“Hospitality House’s application stood out among a large group of worth recipients. We are thrilled to be able to provide further assistance in support of their vitally important work.”

Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC’s Matching Grants program strives to strengthen the ability of its partner programs to address food insecurity in local communities across Northwest NC. The 2014 Grant program was made possible through a generous gift from the estate of Sandra Lou (Sandy) Kirkham Gallant, a former Second Harvest Food Bank board member and ardent supporter of the organization as well as many other area nonprofits.

All funds will be used toward Shared Maintenance Fees/Rural Delivery Fees to obtain healthy food available at Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. While certain products are available at no fee and there are many additional benefits provided through our partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, a fee is assessed on some available products to provide modest support for Second Harvest Food Bank operations which benefit our local community.

Additionally, Hospitality House was selected to receive a commercial refrigerator unit and three high capacity coolers to support its ongoing efforts to provide urgently needed, supplemental food assistance to the growing number of food insecure children, families and seniors in Watauga County.

“We are thrilled to receive this added support from Second Harvest Food Bank,” said Jennings. “With the launch of our children’s Summer Feeding Program on June 16, these grants will allow us to properly pick up, transport and store perishable and dairy items as well as give us a greater opportunity to offer off-premises activities and meal outreach to the Western part of Watauga County, which is a food desert with a 69 percent free and reduce lunch rates for school children.”

“With more and more people in our region turning to “emergency” food organizations on a regular basis to help make ends meet, there’s a growing determination among Feeding America Food Banks, including Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC to increase awareness about food insecurity as a public health issue and do more than provide calories,” said McCormick. “In partnership with our strong supporters in the retail grocery industry and others, our organization is committed to making a variety of healthy foods available to partner programs like Hospitality House and those in need we serve together.”

The awards were made possible through a competitive grant process offered by Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, a member of the nationwide Feeding America network, which serves as a major source of food and other resources for more than 400 charitable food assistance programs across 18 counties, from Boone to Burlington.