MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Inside a Mooresville warehouse, what started as a simple soup kitchen in 1987 is now something much bigger. It's now a food bank, a food delivery service and a job training center.
Feed NC serves about 150 people daily. On average, 50 new families apply a week.
Amanda Szostk is taking part in Feed NC's workforce development program.
"For a while, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life," Szostk shared. "I was going through a hard time."
Others like Drew Fenical will come to pick up groceries.
"It's a shame that we need it, but it's nice that we have the option to come here," Fenical said.
Fenical and Szostk represent two parallel but equally important missions of Feed NC.
"The groceries we see as sort of an urgent, immediate need, and the education is a very long-term solution ... helps people to be able to get back on their feet," Feed NC Executive Director Lara Ingram said.
That need is so great that the group is moving into a newer, larger facility in 2023.
"So we have a lot of families who have two jobs, three jobs," Ingram said. "They have children in their household. They're contributing to our community. And they're working very hard."
That's why Feed NC has a workplace development program that trains people like Szostk.
"It helps me have some comfort at night, knowing that if I am struggling, there's somebody here that will help," Szostk said.
There are many ways to help Feed NC, all of which are listed online.
Contact Ben Thompson at bthompson@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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