‘It makes me feel really happy’: 6-year-old volunteer helps bring fresh food to neighbors in Chadbourn

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and nonprofits held a Pop-Up Market in Chadbourn on Saturday.

Annie Catherine Pridgen Community Development Foundation partnered with the food bank and hosted the event at Jerusalem Chapel Free Will Baptist Church.

The event is an opportunity to bring fresh food choices to neighbors in rural areas.

While there are plenty of ways to spend your Saturday, a 6-year-old child chose to volunteer at the event.

“It feels good being here cause I was working and doing so good,” says Jayden Lee.

Jayden was accompanied by his Uncle and is determined to follow in his footsteps by giving back.

His uncle says he hopes to train him to think of others.

“He’s raised in the area so that he can give back to the community, and to know that it’s important that you give unto others. You help the needy and the poor. When we instill that heart into our kids, they’re going to change the world for our future,” says Marlando Pridgen.

Jayden stayed right by his side and helped to serve fresh fruits and vegetables.

He carried bags of food to the carts and anything else he could get his hands on.

Neighbors were able to stay in their cars if they wanted, while volunteers loaded their cars with groceries.

Rural areas don’t always have access to fresh and healthy food options because stores are spread apart.

That’s a factor the Food Bank thinks of when choosing where to host its pop-ups.

“The goal of this program is to address gaps in service within the food access community in the southeastern counties. We try to go places with this program where there is not a ton of other food access resources, food pantries, soup kitchens, things like that,” says Isa Bailey, coordinator with Food Bank CENC.

Jayden is just excited that he got to make a difference at the event.

“It makes me feel really happy,” says Lee.

The mobile food distribution has been going on for a few months, and the plan is to continue it once a month.

Organizers say the next one will be on May 10th from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm.

They also say it’s best to get there as early as you can because it’s first-come first first-served.

You can check out volunteer opportunities by visiting the Food Bank CENC website.

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