I’m at the County level and I chair our McDowell County Local Food Advisory Council. Our Foothills Food Hub responds weekly to the 25% of our county’s population that suffers from hunger or food insecurity. In response to the COVID-19 restrictions, we are surging capacity from 17,000 lbs to about 30,000 lbs of foodstuffs weekly to help those additionally affected by the restrictions. Of note, this Food Hub is 100% volunteer-run and operates 100% on grants and donations alone. Estimates from last week show that we’ll surge from 300 to more than 600 boxes of food to over 300 families this coming week and that number will increase exponentially as a result of the economic impact resulting from the pandemic. Schools are still providing a daily meal to students and we hope that the school system will be able to maintain that program…if not, it will only add to our mission. “Feeding McDowell!”
COL (Ret) Alex R. ‘Alpo’ Portelli
Distance Class of 2005
