New Food Bank CEO Looks At Big Picture Of Hunger In The Region

The area's largest hunger relief agency has a new leader. Eric Aft took over as CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina in July. It serves more than 400 partner agencies across the region and moves about 37 tons of food through its warehouses each day. Among its most recent initiatives is Providence Kitchen, a restaurant staffed by graduates of its culinary training program. Aft says that it trains adults to find new careers and gain experience.

Aft provides a picture of hunger across the region, and what's being done to help with WFDD's Paul Garber. 

Interview Highlights

On how Second Harvest's culinary training program is also bringing nutritious food to those in need: 

“They're fixing heat-and-serve meals that our partner agencies can receive. It could be chili. It could be chicken and rice. Things that are easy for families to just take from the freezer to the stovetop or even the microwave to get ready. It's made with fresh foods so it's more nutritious and nothing processed, of course. So the fact that the students get the hands-on training while they're doing that and we can get some of that food out to the community is incredibly helpful.”

Data indicate that one in seven North Carolinians struggle with hunger, and for children it's one in five, according to Feeding America. What does hunger look like in Northwest North Carolina? 

“We just have a lot of families and a lot of children struggling with hunger.  …The good news on that, and it's very small good news, is that if we were having this discussion a year ago we'd be talking one in six individuals facing hunger or food insecurity and one in four children. The fact is the community is responding and we need to make sure that we're doing more and more to make sure they have the nutritious food they need to be successful.”

One of the barriers to helping is the stigma that some attach to accepting donated food. Aft says he hopes that is changing.

“One of the things that will intrigue people is that if we just look at Forsyth County, in our last data analysis, 32 percent of the folks who accessed our network of pantries went to those pantries one time a year. That was it. So, about a third of the folks just needed help one time. Maybe it was after a big utility bill hit in the winter. Maybe it was just tough time, a quick job loss and they needed help along the way. Folks who need food assistance: A) They don't want to seek assistance. B) They're seeking it when they need it. Not as a substitute for going to find a job or going to the grocery store. This is about using a system when they need it in an emergency situation to help them support their family.”

(Editor's note: This story has been edited for clarity.)