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Posted via Brighton McConnell | August 1, 2024 | Nonprofit
PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro, a nonprofit organization committed to combating food distrust in the region, will open its first headquarters and customer-choice food market later this year.
A member of the organization announced plans Thursday to open the PORCH Community Center at 202 South Greensboro Street in Carrboro, across the street from the under-construction South Orange County Library. The area, which the nonprofit began leasing in recent weeks, will be the first of its kind in PORCH’s 14-year history, serving as a distribution site for its Food for Families program and as an area for increased interaction of visitors with the organization’s staff and volunteers.
The market will provide other people with the opportunity to source food that is more culturally applicable or tailored to their nutritional needs, according to PORCH, and will operate on a more flexible schedule than distribution days and times through the Food for Families program.
“We asked our families for feedback and heard it loud and clear — they would love to be able to eat their own food,” Erin Riney, executive director of PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro, said in the statement. “We are making this update to better serve our participants. Through the Hub, we can focus on building deeper connections while also prioritizing the dignity of choice.
The netpaintings center will also allow PORCH to offer a collection and programming space for netpaintings members, saying the organization plans to work in partnership and plan pre-kindergarten enrollment events, English classes and information sessions on affordable housing features in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. PORCH added that it plans to expand its partnerships with teams such as the Central and Eastern Food Bank of North Carolina and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to combine fresher foods into broader varieties. Despite new overhead in the area, nonprofit leaders say. Adjustments to food resource partnerships would not likely increase PORCH’s operating costs.
Since its inception in 2010, PORCH has provided millions of dollars to fight hunger in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community. Each month, the nonprofit distributes food assistance to more than 2500 people in 663 families through its Food for Families program, which totaled more than 627,000 pounds of food will be distributed in 2023. Its current style sees families being ushered to a distribution on a designated day where PORCH distributes pre-packaged bags containing non-perishable food, produce, milk and eggs.
However, the existing style demands that the nonprofit be artistic in the way it sells and preserves food before distributing it. According to Sofia Edelman, communications manager for PORCH, pieces of non-perishable food are kept in a classroom at Carrboro United Methodist Church and the area is rented each month to Extraordinary Ventures to collect, sort, pack and purchase donations.
Riney said in Thursday’s release that he hopes the PORCH Community Hub will offer not only an area for clients, but also an area for the group’s volunteers. The physical location will require more adjustments and offer a greater variety of roles for those looking to contribute to the nonprofit’s efforts.
“Our project is to get neighbors to interact, build networks and supply fresh and healthy food. Through the PORCH Community Hub, we’ll do the way we do all three,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard to locate the right neighbors. “Expansion formula and we cannot wait for this new bankruptcy to begin. “
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