There is not enough space in this article to list all the good that the Highlands Food Pantry and the Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry (Cashiers) do for the people of both communities.
Both organizations assist residents who struggle to provide food for their families. Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry serves Jackson, Western Transylvania, and Eastern Macon counties, while Highlands Food Pantry serves Macon County, as well as other “off the Mountain” families. In a country that has 2.04 million farms that produce 751.9 million tons of food each year, people still go hungry.
The question is why? It is not for the availability of food. Feeding a family of four costs an estimated $996 to $1,603 per month. A person working for $15 an hour, which is twice the North Carolina minimum wage of $7.25, would earn $600 a week.
Adding in rent, fuel, clothing, and medical care, millions of people cannot afford to live in today’s society.
Bonnie Dayton
Each week, the Cashiers food pantry serves over 100 families, and Highlands over 150 families at their “Choice” facilities, where the “Neighbors,” as Cashiers President Larry Morris calls them, shop for what they need.
Each item on the shelf has a posted limit, allowing the family to select what they want.
According to Bill Fehrs, Procurements, “Our shopping method enables the neighbor to serve the types of foods that are consistent with their culture, tastes, and eliminates waste.”
Serving those in need requires a ready food supply and financial support. MANNA Foodbank provides food pantries with both food supplies at no cost and some that the pantry can purchase at reduced prices. The pantries fill the gaps in the donated food supply by purchasing directly from MANNA and local markets, each spending around $6,000 a month.
In months past, MANNA, which supports over 140 food pantries, provided one-half to two-thirds of the food the pantries supplied to the families in need. Due to funding cuts, the level of MANNA support has been reduced by almost 50 percent, resulting in a significant gap in supply. The amount of government support is decreasing, while the price of food is increasing, and the number of those needing assistance is rising, thus causing this crisis of need.
Highlands and Cashiers cannot solve the country’s food crisis, but they can and do their part to serve all those in need in our communities.
According to Bonnie Dayton, Highlands Food Pantry Director, “With the government cuts and rising food prices, the pantries are becoming the family’s primary resource. The number of families we support rises every month, and I fear it may double with the current situation.”
The people behind the scenes are heroes to those in need. They give their time and money to the cause, but more so, they give their love—love of community, love for their neighbors. In return, they get something money cannot buy, and businesses cannot donate. They get the personal satisfaction that, in a world that sometimes is unfair and uncaring, they show that they indeed care, and when they depart from their shift at the pantry, they feel a little better about themselves, for they have served the community and served without the notion of reward.
The question becomes, what can we do to help in this noble and charitable cause? Volunteers are always needed, but now, with the drastic reduction in government support, the need is for your financial support. You can reach out to the Highlands Pantry at highlandsfriendshipcenter.org/foodpantry and the Cashiers Pantry at fishesandloavescashiers.org.
Please reach out – our neighbors need us!
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