ELLERBE — The Mineral Springs Improvement Council is one of two nonprofit organizations in Richmond County to receive grants from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation.
According to a press release, the Ellerbe-based group and Helping Hands of Hamlet Inc. each received $2,000 grants as part of Food Lion Feeds’ efforts to “to combat food insecurity and provide nutritional education to their communities.”
The local organizations are just two of 294 in 10 states granted a total of $775,000. The number of grants awarded is an 83% increase from last fall’s cycle, according to a press release.
“We are proud to support our community partners, who are seeing an increase in the number of neighbors needing food assistance,” said Adam Bass, president, Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation. “For our neighbors, some basic necessities are overwhelming, and these agencies are doing everything they can to serve a critical need for hundreds of hungry communities. Through the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation, we are grateful to partner with our nonprofit organizations who continue to make a difference in the towns and cities we serve.”
According to the press release, nonprofit organizations are eligible for grants if they are affiliated with Feeding America or the United Way.
Helping Hands of Hamlet is a partnering agency with the United Way of Richmond County. The Mineral Springs Improvement Council is a partnering agency with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, which is associated with Feeding America.
The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina serves more than 30 counties, including Richmond, Scotland and Moore. According to its web page on feedingamerica.org, one in eight people — and one in six children — face hunger in the service area.
A February Facebook post highlighting the Mineral Springs Improvement Council, which was founded in the late ‘60s, states that the group provides food for 150-200 families in Ellerbe and the surrounding area.
In addition to operating a food bank, Helping Hands also helps to keep local kids from going hungry through its Backpack Pals program.
Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation holds two grant cycles each year and organizations are eligible for grants every 12 months, according to the press release.
