First Baptist Church and its Christian Life Center on Monday was the site for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s Pop Up Market free food distribution program, where 370 individuals were served over a two-hour period. Volunteers Lynn Williams, third from left, and Scottie Bryan, fourth from left, were among the more than 15 volunteers who helped with the program that will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Monday of each month. To volunteer or to make a donation, visit www.foodbankcenc.org. Check out the Food Bank’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FoodBankCENC/events for more information, including dates and locations, about the Pop Up Markets.
Wagons were used to help carry food from the distribution site to awaiting vehicles.
First Baptist Church and its Christian Life Center on Monday hosted the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s Pop Up Market free food distribution program.
Volunteer Lynn Williams, left, fills a bag of food Monday during the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s Pop Up Market free food distribution program. Held at the First Baptist Church Christian Life Center, the program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on the second Monday of each month.
First Baptist Church and its Christian Life Center normally serve up food for the soul. This past Monday, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina was at the center serving up food for the body as part of its mission to close the food gap.
It was the second time in as many months that the church has hosted one of the Food Bank’s Pop Up Market free food distributions, where 370 individuals representing 158 households — including 104 children under 18 and 84 senior citizens aged 65 and older — were served over a two-hour period.
During the first distribution that was held this past December, 283 individuals in 75 households were served.
“We’re hoping to do these once a month,” said Cassie James, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Pop Up Markets coordinator. “We’re going to do it the second Monday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon. As word of mouth with these distributions they tend to grow. So I’m excited to see where this one goes when we keep going with it. I am really happy with this.”
The free food distribution is part of the Food Bank’s Pop Up Markets program, James pointed out.
The program started in June 2022 as Food Bank officials worked to figure out where the organization’s gaps in service were or just to find areas that could use some additional support, she said.
“We started looking at areas where we didn’t have a lot of partner agencies and Mount Olive was one of those,” James asserted. “From there we got connected with the church and they’ve thankfully let us use this awesome space.”
There is no pre-sign up — anybody can come, she said.
“We have a really quick registration process, but there’s no ID requirement,” James noted. “We don’t even take names. So it’s pretty simple, and we just try to make it as easy as possible for people to access fresh food. We send a mix of items. It’s kind of a mix of whatever we have donated.
“We do try to lean into fresh produce. For example, today we had sweet potatoes, turnips, onions, lettuce. We also had some dry goods, too, and some snacks and drinks. We try to make it a good mix of products. We bring around 12 pallets of food with an emphasis on fresh produce. In the event of inclement weather, we switch to a drive-thru model.”
The types of foods available at the distributions will vary throughout the year.
“It is seasonal, too,” James said. “For example, in the summer when we do these distributions we almost always have watermelons. Sweet potatoes are pretty consistent and vegetables that are in season because we work with a lot of local farms to get produce.
“We try to make it as easy as possible for people, and this is client choice. If you come through the line and you see something that you know your household will not eat, you do not have to take it. If you see something that you know you will, then you’re welcome to it.”
People are allowed to pick up for multiple households, James acknowledged.
“If someone has a neighbor or family member that’s unable to drive and for whatever reason is unable to make it, we can let them pick up for them as well,” she said.
“We only put item limits on stuff if we know we’re going to run low, or if we don’t have a lot of something. But for the most part we just try to invite people to take what they know they can use.”
The nonprofit Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina opened in 1980 and covers 34 counties. It has six branches that are kind of across our service area, James said.
“We’re a Feeding America affiliated food bank, she said. “I work out of the Raleigh branch and a couple different staff are here that are from different branches. But for the most part, the big staff for this distribution are from Raleigh.”
Volunteers are needed at the distributions, she said. Around 15 volunteers helped at Monday’s distribution. Some registered online and other just showed up, she said.
“That’s great,” James said. “That is what we usually shoot for. We will take all of the help we can get.”
To volunteer or to make a donation, visit www.foodbankcenc.org.
Check out the Food Bank’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FoodBankCENC/events for more information, including dates and locations, about the Pop Up Markets.
