Episode 6 - Empowering Communities

In a special bonus, we're looking back on our history of nourishing people, building solutions, and empowering communities. The Food Bank also posthumously honors Reverend Lex Mathews, who helped secure funding and support to open the organization, with the Hunt-Morgridge Service Award. We reflect on the foundation laid by Reverend Mathews and others that allowed the Food Bank to grow and change over 40 years. 

In the final episode of Path to Ending Hunger our guests are Milagros Guzman, Outreach Coordinator, and Jessica Slider Whichard, Director of Communications, both with the Food Bank. They talk about how the Food Bank is reaching underserved communities and what the future looks like for our organization and hunger relief.

What will it take to end hunger? In episode 5 of Path to Ending Hunger, we outline just a few of the solutions we have worked to develop alongside fellow community partners to address the root causes of hunger. Guests: Gideon Adams, Vice President of Community Health & Engagement for the Food Bank and Willis Wong, Vice President at Root Causes at Duke University.

The Food Bank’s Partner Agencies are on the front lines of food distribution, ensuring essential food and other supplies reach our friends and neighbors. In this episode, we spotlight the partners who nourish people every day and go above and beyond to work with us on building solutions to end hunger. Guests: Earline Middleton, Vice President of Partner Services & Public Policy for the Food Bank and Michael Burger, Board Chair at Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry in Wake Forest, NC.

The Food Bank distributes millions of pounds of food each year, a majority of which includes perishable items like produce, meat, and dairy. Guest Carter Crain, Director of Food Partnerships for the Food Bank and Bill Hering of Hering Farms in Faison, NC, discuss where the food comes from and getting creative when sourcing food.

Disaster relief has become a large part of the Food Bank’s work, especially in the last five years. This episode highlights the coordination and collaboration needed to provide food and non-food essentials during times of crisis. Guests: Caroline Farmer, Executive Director of Governor Cooper’s Office on Volunteerism and Community Service and Larry Morris, Director of Partner Services, Food Bank.

The Food Bank’s first Executive Director Barbara Oates recounts the humble beginnings of the organization while current President Peter Werbicki talks about the growth in need over the years and how we have adapted to meet it and build solutions to ultimately end hunger.

Path to Ending Hunger is a podcast by the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. This year marks the Food Bank's 40th year of serving communities in more than a third of our state with food, supplies, programs, and education. As our founders did in 1980, we continue to work every day to ensure no one goes hungry. The podcast tells the story of our humble beginnings and gives a unique insight into how we nourish people, build solutions, and empower communities to ensure we won't need to be doing this work 40 years from now.