GREENSBORO, N.C. — Food banks across the country are fighting rising food prices and supply chain issues. Higher food costs and limited availability is causing some families to get smaller servings or substitutions for staples, such as, peanut butter.
Supply chain disruptions, smaller inventories, and labor shortages have all resulted in increased costs for charities.
This puts a strain on Triad families already dealing with food deserts and insecurity. That's why one North Carolina A&T student is trying to make a change with these food boxes.
Curtis Shannon Jr. is a junior Liberal Arts Studies major at A&T. He said as he looked around Greensboro, he saw major problems with food insecurity. So decided to step in and do something about it.
On the Northeast side of Greensboro, in front of the McGirt-Horton library, you'll find these two black boxes with non-perishable foods inside.
Curtis Shannon Jr. partnered up with Habitat for Humanity Greensboro, and they came up with these food pantry boxes to address a decades-old problem.
"The idea came from book pantries around Greensboro. Then looking to see what Greensboro really needed as a community. Seeing it was a lot of food insecurity and food deserts, and I was looking at ways to combat it... I chose right here in front of the McGirt Library because this is known as Greensboro's biggest food desert."
These boxes are available for anyone and everyone to access whenever it's needed. Put to make this a success, the community has to keep these boxes stocked up with non-perishables so those that need help can get it.
Curtis also went on to tell me that he and Habitat 4 Humanity Greensboro are trying to bring more boxes like these in our areas that need them most.