KEEPING OUR PARTNER AGENCIES CONNECTED | WINTER 2019

Sister Mary Ann Czaja of Tarboro Community Outreach received the 2018 Hunt-Morgridge Service Award.

Born to an American Polish family of three boys and six girls, Mary Ann was the third of nine children raised in a Midwest country town in Wisconsin. The parents of the “nine” established a mom-and-pop meat market business in the 1940s. Each sibling was meticulously trained in serving customers and cleaning.

Mary Ann was a typical tomboy. Maturing between boys in the family and playing with mostly boys in the neighborhood led to the development of a strong, determined gal. These two characteristics remain notable, even today.

College days were inside convent walls by choice. She earned a teaching degree and became qualified to teach grades one to eight. Thirteen years of hands-on teaching created memorable moments to cherish! Home visits to student’s families bonded her with both the child and the entire core family, especially during a seven-year commitment in Harlem, New York.

Earning a master’s degree in social work led Sister to her next career. Trekking the soil of North Carolina, she coordinated parish efforts to address needs of the poor in nine counties. By 1983, Tarboro, North Carolina became home. Working for Catholic Charities allowed time to view the vast needs of rural eastern North Carolina. A spirited interdenominational group of women began to meet, pray, and discern the apparent societal aspects which were lacking in Tarboro. The year 1986 marked the beginning of sharing a pot of soup from someone’s kitchen and sandwiches being put together in the annex hall of the fire department. The hungry and homeless now had a place to gather, create a sense of community, and enjoy hot soup and sandwiches. Volunteers had the opportunity to gather, create community, and return home knowing they had made a difference in their own hometown. It only took a few months to realize how many men were homeless. This awareness led to the development of a Board of Directors and the creation of Tarboro Community Outreach, Inc. A new self-standing building for shelter and food programs was dedicated in 1989, three blocks from Main Street. Sister Mary Ann accepted the challenge of Executive Director and still today, she uses her energies serving those in need and running this wonderful organization.

CONGRATULATIONS TO SISTER MARY ANN CZAJA

DURHAM ›› GREENVILLE ›› NEW BERN ›› RALEIGH ›› SANDHILLS ›› WILMINGTON

DEAR AGENCY LEADERS,As our community moves from disaster relief to recovery and rebuilding, the Food Bank is grateful for all you do. Your partnership made all the difference in our ability to provide food and other essential items to our neighbors impacted by Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

The Food Bank was most fortunate to be supported by the Feeding America network of food banks. Drivers, partner agency and warehouse staff from across the country became a part of our family for weeks to aid in our disaster work.

The Food Bank has now moved to recovery and rebuilding. Providing food to our neighbors is continues to be our mission, but we are working with many groups to ensure recovery continues.

Immediately, in addition to the Food Bank’s everyday operations in non-impacted areas, we are partnering to rebuild the food distribution network in Jones and Pender Counties. This includes working with targeted groups ensure to farmworkers have adequate food and working with regional and statewide organizations to strengthen the disaster response process.

You have worked tirelessly to bring relief to our communities. Thank you. Please use this time of recovery and rebuilding to take care of yourselves and your teams. We know this work will be long and continuous.

Also, if you know of unmet needs in your community, please let your Outreach Coordinator or myself know.

No One Goes Hungry,

Earline E. Middleton Vice President, Partner Services & Public Policy

Angela (Angie) Nesius is the new Record & Data Collections Coordinator. She is responsible for managing data sent to the Food Bank by our partner agencies, such as monthly reports, and will ensure that all of our agency files are in order.

Jennifer Woods is the new Durham Branch Outreach Coordinator. Jennifer is currently working as the Federal Foods Program Assistant, and has been instrumental in the success of the Food Bank’s administration of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).

NEW STAFF

PARTNER SERVICES STAFF

Earline E. Middleton Vice President of Partner Services & Public Policy

Larry Morris Director of Partner Services

Linda Sledge Administrative Assistant, Stone Soup Producer

Christal Andrews Outreach Coordinator, Greenville Branch

Pamela Foust Senior Outreach Coordinator, Raleigh Branch

Tyler Weidig Outreach Coordinator, Raleigh Branch

Jessica Ledbetter Outreach Coordinator, Sandhills Branch

Hannah West Outreach Coordinator, New Bern Branch

Erin O’DonnellOutreach Coordinator, Wilmington Branch

Jennifer WoodsOutreach Coordinator, Durham Branch

Angie NesiusRecords & Data Collections Coordinator

2018 ADVOCACY HALL OF FAMEWe did it again! The Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC has been elected into the Feeding America’s Advocacy Hall of Fame class of 2018. This is the fifth year that we have won this award and have been elevated to Legacy status.

The Advocacy Hall of Fame is a yearlong contest that challenges network members to complete a set of advocacy tasks before the end of the year. Members of Feeding America’s Advocacy Hall of Fame will have their food bank or state association name prominently displayed on a plaque in Feeding America’s DC office.

We were able to achieve this status with the help of our partner agencies, who rose to meet each advocacy challenge, I.e. “contact your representatives to support an issue, participate in Feeding America’s call-in-day, respond to support requests to contact your local representatives on specific issues and much more.”

Thank you for your help and congratulations to you as well. This was definitely a collaborative effort. We will also be competing for the 2019 Advocacy Hall of Fame and look forward to working with you to achieve this status.

TEFAP MILK

WHAT DOES THE FARM BILL MEAN TO THE FOOD BANK AND THE PEOPLE WE SERVE?In the 34 counties the Food Bank serves, approximately 16% of people are food insecure, including: 1 in 3 children; approximately 1 in 10 senior citizens; and many members of our veteran community. The Food Bank operates Farm Bill programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to provide food to our community.

• SNAP works by giving people a helping hand when they need it most. In fiscal year 2018, the Food Bank helped people in need complete more than 1,482 applications to receive SNAP benefits, which led to 1.1 million more meals in our community.

• SNAP supports the whole North Carolina food chain — from farmers and growers, to local retailers and manufacturers, to the working poor.

• TEFAP is essential to the work of the Food Bank. Last year, it provided almost 20% of the food that was distributed through local hunger-relief agencies last year. In fiscal year 2018, through TEFAP, the Food Bank provided more than 4 million meals.

• CSFP is often a program of last resort for seniors who qualify for no other form of nutrition assistance, but desperately need help. Each box includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein, and dairy. The Food Bank operates CSFP in 16 counties, with a goal to serve 5,000 seniors in need. In fiscal year 2018, more than 1 million meals were provided by the Food Bank through CSFP to senior citizens in need.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) recipient agencies have received a commodity that we’ve never had before -- refrigerated milk! The milk comes in 9 half-gallon jugs per crate. We understand that some TEFAP agencies may not have the capacity to receive as much milk as they are allocated, but we urge you to accept as much of this great commodity as you can. We all may need to get creative in how we distribute this milk (as long as we stick to the rules and regulations of TEFAP). Please work with your local Outreach Coordinator to think of ways that your TEFAP agency can accept and distribute as much of this milk as possible.

1924 Capital Boulevard, Raleigh, NC 27604 | 919.875.0707 | foodbankcenc.org

NEW SHOPPERS ORIENTATIONNew Shoppers Orientation process has been added to Food Link for all branches. Registration is a simple and easy process. See the steps below.

Step 1: Click on Orientation Overview on the left side of Food Link.

Step 2: Click on “How to Register a New Shopper” and then the scheduling calendar link at the bottom of the page. Open calendar and find the date for your branch. Click on your date and then click “Continue.”

Step 3: Fill out the requested information and then click Complete Appointment.

You will receive your confirmation and an email will be sent to your Outreach Coordinator. To comply with Food Bank policy, please cut and paste the Statement of Authorization Form to your letterhead and send it to your Outreach Coordinator.

Please Note: New Shopper cards will not be released without the completion of the Statement of Authorization Form.

HURRICANE FLORENCE DISASTER RELIEF UPDATEThanks to the #MillionMealsChallenge led by James Taylor and his family and friends, we raised 1.2 million meals to help people impacted by Florence & Michael for the long haul.

Kristin Cooper, First Lady of North Carolina, and her staff/team volunteered at the Food Bank to pack disaster relief boxes for those impacted by Hurricane Florence.

“I think this rebuilding process is going to be a matter of years and not months. We’re heading into the holidays and people are going to be thinking about other things, but we need to keep remembering our fellow North Carolinians who are really suffering and doing without, and doing the best we can to help them.” — Kristin Cooper, First Lady of North Carolina