- Acquiring and distributing food to supplement the food needs of faith and community-based organizations;
- Advocating for the rights of hungry people;
- Educating the public about hunger; and
- Pursuing partnerships with like-minded organizations.
Our Vision
Sharing the abundance so no one goes hungry
History of Food Banking in America
The concept of food banking began in the late 1960s in Phoenix, Arizona. John Van Hengel, a retired businessman volunteering at a local soup kitchen, began soliciting donations of food products from grocery stores that might otherwise have gone to waste. Soon, his efforts were generating more food than the soup kitchen could handle. Read more.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC
History At-a-Glance
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina was founded in 1981 and opened its doors in 1982 to address the growing needs of people seeking emergency food assistance in Northwest North Carolina. Since then, we have experienced dramatic growth in food distribution, operations and programming to better serve our more than 390 partner agencies – and the thousands of people who rely on the food they provide each year. To date, the Second Harvest Food Bank has distributed nearly 100 million pounds of food to non-profit agencies and churches that feed our hungry neighbors in 18 counties.
1980s – Throughout the 1980s the new Food Bank, founded to serve people in need of food throughout 18 counties in Northwest North Carolina, rapidly expands to meet the growing needs of its partner agencies and the families served by them. Read more.
1990s – Attention is focused on the continued expansion of Food Bank resources and capacity through identifying new sources of food and providing enhanced services and programming.
Read more.
2000s – The work to develop new sources of food and funds continues, and a new vision for the future begins.
Read more.
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