“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
— James 2: 15-16
86Hunger is a community-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit, dedicated to helping eliminate hunger in Pitt County, NC.
We partner with local schools to help reach food insecure children in our area with our Backpack Pals program. We currently serve 172 students per week. We have other programs to help combat hunger in our neighborhoods. There are many ways that YOU can get involved and help out!
Helping Eliminate Hunger in Pitt Co., NC
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Backpack Pals
Many school children rely on school lunch for their daily nourishment. Well, what about the weekend? 86Hunger’s Backpack Pals program aims to answer that question. We provide a bag of food full of protein, fruit, grains, calcium, and even a snack to help them make it through until Monday. Kids need to be well fed, among other factors, to excel in their school and daily lives.
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Blessing Boxes
Sometimes our staple program, Backpack Pals, doesn’t go far enough. That’s where the 86Hunger Blessing Boxes come in. Perfect for helping alleviate food costs during the week, this box has many benefits. The food is nonperishable, it can have a large variety of foods, and this food is perfect to accommodate your family’s needs. Please allow for one box per household.
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86Hunger Repack
Our newest program, 86Hunger Repack, allows us to stretch our bulk items even further! Vacuum sealing portions can help extend the dates of food as well as create more variety of foods to use in our Backpack Pals program. All food is repacked in a sanitary environment and labelled with ingredients. Is this something that you and your team would like to do?
86Hunger Community Events
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FOOD DRIVES
We strive to be a community driven outreach. The heart of our program is the Food Drive. We get the chance to partner with our neighbors and local grocers to help those in need. Asking for the exact items that are needed is the most direct approach to success. This food goes directly into either our Backpack Pals or Blessing Boxes programs. If you have a church group, sports team, or extracurricular that wants to serve, consider holding a Food Drive! We’ll help you get started :)
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SPIRIT NIGHTS
One of our FAVORITE ways to partner with the community is holding a “Spirit Night” type function. We join with local businesses to profit share at these events, supporting 86Hunger. The above image is from a previous event, raising several hundred dollars going straight to purchasing food! We LOVE our sponsors! This gives us a great opportunity to meet with our donors and share our appreciation. We’d love for you to help staff one of these “Fun”ctions ;)
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PARTNERSHIPS
Much of our product comes from donations of one sort or another. Our largest contributor by far is the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC (FBCENC). The food we procure from them is what keeps us going day to day. However, a growing number of businesses and private donors have come along side us to help fight hunger. Either through volunteers, groceries, or monetary donations, each partnership gets us further to reaching our goals. Consider joining us in the fight!