WASHINGTON, N.C. -- Rural communities across North Carolina are working to meet the rising needs of residents who are unable to access healthy food as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Many already grappled with longstanding health inequities before COVID-19, but local groups have stepped up efforts amid the public-health crisis.

Bill Booth, executive director of the Alpha Life Enrichment Center in Beaufort County, said most of the farming done in the area involves row crops -- like corn, soybeans and tobacco -- rather than fresh vegetables that residents can access locally.

Instead, most live in so-called "food deserts" with limited options for grocery shopping. Booth added that more than 32% of Beaufort County's population lives in poverty. His organization is spearheading an effort to build a community food co-op in the town of Aurora.

"In the next couple of weeks, hopefully, we'll be able to go in and begin to transform that building into a cooperative grocery store," Booth said. "We'll be working with the local growers in the area."

The group also is providing regular meals to front-line health-care workers at Vidant Beaufort Hospital, and has donated personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to local emergency hunger-relief groups.

In Halifax County, Chester Williams of the group A Better Chance, A Better Community (ABC2) said while workshops and community dinners have been canceled, some residents are growing their own food in response to the pandemic, using gardening starter kits provided by his organization.

As ABC2's founder and CEO, he's convinced that the coronavirus is changing how residents think about health and access to fresh food.

"We have a young person that started a salad garden, and now, they have salad they can eat with their family," Williams explained. "So, it's going through different conversations and different actions of change. Not relying on other but relying on yourself -- and then, interdependent in our community to sustain ourselves. "

According to 2019 data from Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, more than 12,000 in Halifax County are considered food insecure, a number that is expected to increase because of the pandemic.

More information about these and other local efforts to improve food security is online as part of the Healthy Places NC Initiative on the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust website.



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Supported by federal funding, a nonprofit network is working to ensure Mississippi families have access to the food they will need this winter.

Nearly one in six Mississippians faces food insecurity, according to Feeding America.

Adam Runion, communications coordinator for theMississippi Food Network, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a program which allows them to distribute locally grown, fresh produce to more than 400 partner agencies statewide. He said they started with 21 agencies in underserved northwestern delta counties. The funding has helped nearly 5,000 families so far.

"It's able to serve about 200 people at each agency when we started per month, but we've been able to take on more agencies as the program has developed," Runion explained. "That comes out to 4,200 households per month are receiving assistance through this program."

Runion pointed out they offer a variety of programs, including distributing food boxes to qualifying seniors and a backpack program for schools. Students can take the healthy snacks home on weekends, helping to improve their overall health and grades.

Runion added the Mississippi Food Network also offers a monthly mobile pantry, directly serving clients in areas of high need. Funding for the program comes from local organizations.

"In that mobile pantry, we distribute an emergency food box," Runion outlined. "Alongside that, we typically do a protein, which could be anywhere from a chicken to some type of fish, any type of meat. And then, we also try to do fresh vegetables as they're available."

Runion added the network is teaming up with a local television station for a "Turkey Drive" on Thursday. Volunteers will collect donated turkeys and other grocery items outside Kroger stores. Last year, they collected more than 1,100 turkeys and $12,000. This year's goal is to exceed 1,100 turkeys and raise $15,000.


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The nonprofit Feeding Texas Network has announced its priorities for the upcoming legislative session. The food insecurity rate continues to rise in Texas and the organization is encouraging lawmakers to support bills that address the root cause of hunger.

Celia Cole, Feeding Texas Network CEO, said they support bills that will eliminate the backlog of SNAP applications, implement the Summer EBT program and streamline Medicaid reimbursements.

"We are seeing some of the highest rates of hunger in Texas that we've seen in years. We have the second highest rate of food insecurity in the country. People are really struggling to put food on the table and pay for everything else like rent and utilities," Cole explained.

She added their legislative goals are supported by the 20 food banks across the state that serve all 254 counties in Texas.

Lawmakers have already started filing bills for the 89th legislative session. Cole said the network has received support from many members of the legislature in the past, and added their priorities also include addressing other areas of financial strife.

"They include health, housing security, financial security and then also just our local food system - you know - what can we do to strengthen the local food system so that people will have access to fresh, nutritious, affordable foods in their own communities?" she continued.

Cole said hunger is a nonpartisan issue that impacts every county in our state. The legislative session starts January 14th.


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Colorado's leading advocate for people experiencing hunger turns 15 this year and a new report outlined key advances and persistent challenges facing residents across the state.

Elissa Hardy, director of client services for Hunger Free Colorado, cited its work on the Healthy School Meals for All program as a major win. Students in schools opting into the program can now get the nutrition they need to learn, regardless of their parents' ability to pay. She pointed out it is also putting an end to practices such as lunch line shaming.

"This really allowed for reduction in stigma, in discrimination, for those kids on low-cost food programs," Hardy observed. "Because (with the new program) everyone was getting the meals."

Colorado became the third state in the nation to provide free, nutritious breakfast and lunch for all public-school students when voters approved Proposition FF in 2022. Hunger Free Colorado has also helped secure more than $30 million in state funding to fill food banks and pantries with culturally relevant foods communities want, produced by local farmers and ranchers.

When the group started doing outreach for SNAP enrollment in 2009, just four in 10 Coloradans eligible for the program formerly known as food stamps were getting help. Hardy reported today, nearly eight in 10 eligible families are getting food assistance.

"Colorado was one of the lower ranking states, for the number of people who are eligible but not enrolled, and now we are much higher up in that rating," Hardy emphasized. "We now have a team of 20 who are going into the community to do outreach."

Hardy acknowledged there is still work to be done. More than one in 10 Coloradans do not know where their next meal will come from and 17% of Colorado families with children do not earn enough to ensure their kids get the nutrition they need.

"I think it's really easy to think that people have what they need, and they don't," Hardy added. "There is food insecurity in our own neighborhoods, our own neighbors might be struggling. We work with many colleges across the state, and many of the students are struggling."