Multiple food banks serving ENC counties report high food insecurity

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Multiple food banks that serve Eastern Carolina counties are reporting high food insecurity.

The Food Bank of the Albemarle says food insecurity is at record levels as they continue to prepare for more federal funding cuts.

“A couple years ago, we were seeing the number of food insecure people in our region at just over 36,000 people, so within just a couple years, it has gone up 10,000,” said Food Bank of the Albemarle communications & volunteer manager, Brian Gray.

The food bank says in Northeastern North Carolina, Map the Meal Gap, a national study by Feeding America, finds 13,920 children (1in 4) are food insecure in their region. The overall number of food-insecure neighbors has risen 6.5% from 43,000 to 46,440 (1 in 6).

They say this rise in need for food assistance is happening concurrently with an uncertainty of proposed Federal cuts to essential safety net programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

“We’re seeing increases in food insecurity across our region, and decreases in funding and sources of food,” said Liz Reasoner, Executive Director of Food Bank of the Albemarle.

The food bank says House Republicans are proposing at least $230 billion in cuts to SNAP over the next decade.

The county with the highest food insecurity in the region for Food Bank of the Albemarle is Washington County, where 20.9% of people are food insecure.

In Martin County, 17.9% of the county is food insecure.

The Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina is also seeing high levels of food insecurity in their region, with 14.5% of their region being food insecure.

One resource for food-insecure families is Joy Soup Kitchen in Greenville. However, executive director Thomas Quigley says their numbers are going down because, unlike food pantries, they don’t allow people to take food home, and they only allow food to be given to the people who physically show up at the soup kitchen.

Quigley says even though the numbers are going down, his passion to help those dealing with food insecurity still drives him.

“My passion for it is that I was a paramedic, firefighter, I was in the Marines, I’ve spent my life taking care of people, and I’ll continue to do so. Somebody has to do it. Everybody sits at home and they bang away on their keyboard about how they wanna change the world. We challenge people here. You wanna be the change? Be the change. Come here and serve,” said Quigley.