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PORCH Views – April 2023
Hello! 

Welcome to another edition of PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s quarterly newsletter, helping you stay up to date on everything happening within our organization. 

Some of the most recent headlines:

- Please check out our 2022 Impact Report! To meet the increased need for our services, in 2022, we provided a record amount of hunger relief – $824,900 in fresh food, non-perishable goods, and grocery gift card support. Each month, about 280 volunteers served an all-time high of more than 520 families – nearly 2,200 individuals, which includes 1,250 children. 2022 was the year that we surpassed $5 million in hunger relief distributed to community members since our founding in 2010.

- We are currently seeking Neighborhood Coordinators in communities all around Chapel Hill and Carrboro. If your neighborhood doesn't have a Neighborhood Coordinator, would you or someone you know want to help fill this role? This is a great leadership opportunity for students! Prospective NCs can reach out to us at chc@porchcommunities.org. You can pass along the link to our Neighborhood Coordinator information page, which gets into the nuts and bolts of what NCs do; it includes this very handy video. 

– This month's Food for Thought messaging urges elected officials to maximize SNAP funding in the 2023 Farm Bill. It's easy to write a postcard. Get all of the details on our website.

Read on for more exciting updates. And check our blog regularly to learn the latest developments. Thank you, as always, for being part of the PORCH community!

Best, 

The PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro Team 
Bouquets for Hunger Relief

Bear, Daisy, Annie, Wyatt, Townsend, Eddie, and Stella are neighbors in Wolf’s Pond who sold bouquets of flowers picked from their yards as well as books and other items they donated. They raised $80 for PORCH.

Neighborhood Coordinator Betty shared: “My PORCH sign and collection bin had been out all week, and they too wanted to contribute something to PORCH. I am so proud of our thoughtful and hardworking neighborhood children! They are the best!” 
An Artful Fundraiser

Festa Della Terra is an "artful food drive" held every year in Natalie Marrone's backyard in Chapel Hill – featuring live music and art installations. (Pictured is Carrboro artist Charlotte Hord Smith, who makes unique mixed media pieces using fabric scraps and paper.)

This year's event will take place on April 22. Make plans to attend – learn more on our blog.
Food Drives Made Easy

Weaver Dairy Community Preschool held a successful food drive for PORCH last month. They collected 195 pounds of non-perishables that we used in our Food for Families bags. 

Interested in holding a food drive for PORCH in your school, business, or community organization? It's pretty easy. Find a promotional flyer and some instructions on our website.
Another Semester of Food for Schools

At the end of January, school social workers picked up their second Food for Schools bundle of the academic year. Food for Schools provides supplemental food – snacks like protein bars and cheese crackers – to students in CHCCS who are hungry and struggling to concentrate in the classroom. We provide each school with $1,000 worth of snacks per year.

Learn more about Food for Schools.
We are currently seeking sponsors for the 2023-2024 school year!
Pitch In to Help PORCH Provide Even More Hunger Relief in 2023

We recently received this note from a Food for Families participant: "PORCH is a great help, because the money I save can be used for other needs."

Our vision is that each person in our Chapel Hill-Carrboro community will have access to enough fresh food to lead an active, healthy life. But families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro struggle to put food on the table each and every day.
 
We provide fresh and non-perishable food to 2,220 individuals each month, which includes more than 1,250 children. Plus, the grocery store gift cards that we distribute offer the dignity of choice. And we support 13 local food pantries by dropping off non-perishable goods month after month.

Thank you to our volunteers, donors, and partners who make this work possible! Together, we truly make a difference.

Can you make a gift today to help us combat hunger in our community? A $15 gift provides milk and eggs for two families; $25 provides a monthly grocery gift card for a family; $50 provides a nine-day supply of fresh food to one family; $300 provides produce for a family for six months; and $600 sponsors a year supply of produce for a family.

Go to our donate page to make your gift. Click on “recurring donation” if you wish to become a PORCH monthly sustainer. You can also mail a check payable to PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro to P.O. Box 16363, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-6363. 

Don’t forget to claim any matching funds from your employer. This can double your impact!
PO Box 16363
Chapel Hill, NC 27516