Connecting Congregations to People in Need

Anathoth Garden near Hillsborough, N.C., has helped a community heal.

Challenge

Growing Numbers of Hungry Families

The statistics can be startling. In 2007, according to a national hunger relief agency:

• 36.2 million Americans lived in "food insecure" households. (Families are food insecure when they don't have access to enough food because of financial resources.)
• Households with children reported food insecurity at almost double the rate for those without children.
• 3.9 million households received emergency food from a food pantry.
• 11.7 percent of rural households — an estimated 2.2 million — were food insecure.

In November 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that hunger was up 50 percent in 2007, reaching the highest level in a decade. And the number of Americans who said they were at least slightly worried about being able to put food on the table increased 30 percent between 2007 and 2008.

In North Carolina, according to the News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, one in seven children are food insecure.

Response

Hunger Relief Provided by Churches

By supporting rural United Methodist churches in North Carolina, The Duke Endowment aims to expand church outreach in communities across the state. Endowment grants have helped rural churches serve thousands of people through food pantries, sustainable farming programs and other hunger relief projects.

In the 1980s, Endowment support helped congregations reach out to local farmers by hosting farmers' markets on church parking lots. Some two dozen markets were established; more than half still operate today.

More recently, grants have paid for freezers, refrigeration or shelving at church-based food pantries. Grants also have helped congregations participate in meal delivery for the elderly and programs that supply food to children when they aren't in school. Other Endowment funding has supported church-related community gardens.

In 2006 and 2007, more than $1.8 million in grants from the Endowment supported 32 food and hunger programs and served 24,300 people.

In 2008, grant awards supported several food-related programs, including:

• $45,000 for a food ministry program at Hillsdale United Methodist Church in Advance, N.C.
• $21,000 to St. John's United Methodist Church in Avon, N.C., to provide community dinners for people in need.
• $65,000 to establish a food pantry at Red Hill United Methodist Church in Bakersville, N.C.
• $104,000 to the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church to support a program to raise awareness of farmworkers' issues.
• $50,000 to Nathan's Creek United Methodist Church in Crumpler, N.C., for a project that will put locally-grown produce in food pantries.
• $120,000 to Union Grove United Methodist Church in Hillsborough, N.C., to support the Community Farm at Chestnut Ridge.
• $25,000 to Unity United Methodist Church in Kannapolis, N.C., for a mobile meals program for senior adults.
• $22,000 to Smith Grove United Methodist Church in Mocksville, N.C., to provide food on weekends to children in need.
• $41,000 to Clifton United Methodist Church in Warrensville, N.C., to support Seeds to Feed, a gardening program that connects long-time residents of Ashe County with newcomers.

Participating Sites in North Carolina

• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church, Raleigh
• Western North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church, Charlotte

Contact Us

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Director of Rural Church
704.927.2251