Each year Duke Energy demonstrates their unwavering commitment to addressing food insecurity in Chatham County by supporting CORA’s programs. In July, CORA received $4,000 from the Duke Energy Foundation to support its SNACK! (Summer Nutritional Assistance for Chatham Kids) program that provides nutritious food for summer meals to Chatham County school children.
In Chatham County 50% of public-school children receive free or low-cost meals through the federal school lunch program because their family income is at or near poverty level. More than 4,300 school children in Chatham County will likely not have adequate replacements for these meals during the summer in 2019. SNACK!’s goal is to increase the accessibility of nutritious food to Chatham County children facing hunger during the summer. This is accomplished by providing food for nutritious meals comprised of 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners, and healthy snacks each week from mid-June to mid-August.
Providing food through the SNACK! alleviates the economic burden on families for a few months each year. The meals CORA provides to families facing poverty allows them to reallocate some of their resources for groceries to other essential items such as rent, medication, or electricity. All of these provide important benefits to the family.
“We at CORA are so grateful for the ongoing support of the Duke Energy Foundation. Their dedication to our partnership – and to working with us to realize a community without hunger – is remarkable,” stated CORA’s Executive Director, Melissa Driver Beard. “It’s this kind of commitment to the cause that gives us hope that we will one day end hunger.”
In addition to funding, the Duke Energy Foundation also supports CORA’s work in the community in other ways. Duke Energy hosted a food drive at the Chatham County Fairgrounds on May 10th. Through their efforts, more than 400 pounds of food was collected, and the donations included canned fruits and vegetables, pasta, peanut butter, and cereals.
“Duke Energy is committed to serving our communities. We understand that many food pantries run low after the holiday season and we wanted to re-stock CORA’s shelves this spring,” said Indira Everett, District Manager with Duke Energy.
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