Harvest Hope receives $26,000 grant
Harvest Hope CEO Denise Holland, Mindy Taylor of Duke Energy, and Donna Lollis of Harvest Hope Food Bank. Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Fewer Pee Dee families will go hungry over the next year, thanks to a $26,000 grant presented last week to Harvest Hope Food Bank from the Duke Energy Foundation.
The grant funds will support Harvest Hope’s Mobile Food Pantry, which distributes nutritious food – including fresh produce – to Pee Dee area families in need, especially those who are elderly or disabled.
“We’re really excited to partner with Harvest Hope Food Bank. They provide such an important service to the community, and the Mobile Food Pantry will help those living in food deserts where residents have a hard time getting access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Mindy Taylor, government and community relations manager for Duke Energy.
“Every mobile food pantry provides about a hundred families with at least two weeks worth of food, including fresh produce, meat, and canned goods,” said Denise Holland, CEO of Harvest Hope Food Bank. “This donation is very important and will help us meet the needs of people in the Pee Dee who are experiencing hunger.”
Holland went on to note that in the Pee Dee, there is a higher degree of “meal gap,” where at some point in the month people are missing meals due to a lack of resources or access.
“This donation goes a long way toward assuring that we can defeat that problem and stop hunger, and that can help improve our communities,” said Holland.
The Duke Energy Foundation is a philanthropic organization aiming to address community needs where their employees and customers live and work. In 2015, the Foundation provided more than $30 million in charitable donations.
Harvest Hope Food Bank is a non-profit organization providing 20 South Carolina counties with hunger relief services through their food banks in Florence, Columbia, and Greenville. To learn more, visit them online at www.HarvestHope.org.
