Janette Kinard said Champion House of Care gone from serving nearly 600 people a week to barely 300.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Food pantries across the Carolinas are being forced to turn families away as recent USDA cuts slash critical food support programs.
At Champion House of Care in Charlotte, shelves are thinning fast. Executive Director Janette Kinard said they’ve gone from serving nearly 600 people a week to barely 300.
“We’re seeing more people coming through,” Kinard said. “Yesterday, we had to turn six people away because we just ran out of food.”
The impact is being felt not only in Charlotte, but in surrounding communities like Rock Hill and Fort Lawn, where other pantries are also reporting sharp declines in federal food supplies.
“Unfortunately, we had nothing yesterday that we could give them. That really hurts you,” said Kinard.
As summer nears and schools close, pantry leaders say the strain will only get worse. She explains they will have to find a way “to send food home with kids because there’s no school,” in addition to having families knocking on the door.
The pantry is relying on community donations and is actively reaching out to organizations for help with food drives. Kinard says without increased support, they may have to cancel their annual Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for the first time.
Kinard is now urging the community to step in and support local food distribution efforts before more families go hungry.
Contact Anna King at [email protected] and follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts that impact you from WCNC Charlotte, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.
发表回复