A popular starting point is identifying our counties Low Income (LI) and Low Access (LA) communities. The USDA has created a Food Access Research Atlas that shows these area.
The Charitable Food System is each community’s primary resource to mitigating limited access to nutritional food resources in LI-LA communities. Food pantries, farmer markets, and community gardens tend to be cornerstone programs within each community’s charitable food system, along with SNAP/WIC.
Click HERE for a map of known food pantries. (NOTE: Place your mouse over each location to see specific information about that location’s hours of availability.)
To understand North Carolina’s charitable food system, specifically support of food pantries, click HERE to see a document that outlines fund flows and programs supporting food pantries. In addition, please click HERE to see a list of food resources for various needs.
Finally, this PowerPoint, Elements of Food Access, offers a deeper dive into how charitable food systems work.
Food Pantries & Mobile Markets
- Inter-Faith Food Shuttle: Food Pantries (map & list)
- Wake, Durham, Johnston, Chatham, Nash, and Edgecombe
- Both map and list include pantry address, contact info, hours, and basic service notes
- Wake, Durham, Johnston, Chatham, Nash, and Edgecombe
- Inter-Faith Food Shuttle: Mobile Markets (map & list)
- Wake, Durham, Johnston, Chatham, Nash, and Edgecombe
- Map includes market address, contact info, and hours
- List includes market address, contact info, hours, and basic service notes
- Wake, Durham, Johnston, Chatham, Nash, and Edgecombe
- Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC: Food Pantries, Mobile Markets, Soup Kitchens (combined map & list)
- All counties
- Map and list include address, contact info, and hours
- All counties
- End Hunger Durham: Food Pantries (map & list)
- Durham County
- Map includes pantry address, contact info, hours, and service notes
- List includes pantry address, contact info, hours, and very basic service notes
- Durham County
- NC211: Food Pantries (list)
- All counties
- List includes pantry address, contact info, hours, and clear service notes and requirements
- All counties
- Capital Area Food Network (list)
- Wake County
- List includes pantry address, contact info, and hours
- Wake County
Resources for Applying for SNAP/EBT
- Step-by-step instructions to apply for SNAP benefits
- SNAP Retailer Locator (including Farmers’ Markets as well)
Federal Programs
Funding charitable food efforts in our network (not including school meals):
- Recurring USDA Programs
- TEFAP
- CSFP
- Disaster funds
- LFPA and LFPA Plus
- One-Time Relief Programs
- CARES Act
- ARPA funds
Food Security Extension Agents
- Sydney Mierop, Food Security Program Manager, Wake County - SKKlein@NCSU.edu
- Durham & Vance-Granville Counties: TBD
Council of Governments (COGs)
- Kerr-Tar Council of Governments – Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance, Warren
- Central Pines Council of Governments – Durham, Wake
Key COG Contacts
- Mary Jane Lyonnais, Regional Planner (Food Systems), Upper Coastal Plain COG - MLyonnais@UCPCOG.org
- Marley Spencer, Regional Community and Economic Development Director, Kerr-Tar Regional COG - MSpencer@KerrTarCOG.org
- Ben Farmer, Planning & Development Services Director, Upper Coastal Plain COG - BFarmer@UCPCOG.org
- Lindsay Whitson, Community and Economic Development Director, Central Pines COG - LWhitson@CentralPinesNC.gov
- Alex Halloway, Economic Development Planner II, Central Pines COG - AHalloway@CentralPinesNC.gov