Vote this week for the
Brighton Center to be named one of 75 food pantries across the country to receive a
$20,000 grant from Walmart.
More than 150 food pantries are competing to win a share of $1.5 million being distributed this season through the Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign.
“It’s for an infrastructure-type makeover, which is not typically funded,” says Deana Sowders, marketing and communications specialist for Brighton Center. “We will use the investment to enhance our two food pantry locations through equipment, technology and transportation in Campbell and Boone counties.”
The Newport-based nonprofit’s Choice Food Pantry served 4,500 families last year, and Sowders says that many of them include income-earning individuals coming in for
emergency assistance because they're unable to make ends meet.
“Hunger is a very real issue facing our families as they often are faced with tough choices and very limited budgets,” Sowders says. “Families are constantly balancing issues like keeping the heat on during the winter, having proper clothing for their growing children, transportation, childcare and putting food on the table — all while trying to maintain employment or further their education.”
Individuals served by the Brighton Center are working toward self-sufficiency and, according to Sowders, deserve a community of supporters who are there to help them “tackle immediate basic needs.”
“Being able to provide families with basic necessities such as food is the first step in getting them on the path toward a stable, self-sufficient future,” she says. “Even today, around 43 percent of those who come in have never asked for assistance before.”
Do Good:
•
Vote for your favorite food pantry to win a $20,000 grant; deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12.
•
Support Brighton Center by donating.
•
Volunteer with the Center.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.