On Thursday, November 2nd, an abandoned closet at North Edgecombe High School became a brand new pantry for a community in need of greater food resources.

100% of students at North Edgecombe receive free breakfast and lunch. The school serves 250 students from six of the surrounding communities, including Tarboro, Rocky Mount, Whitakers, Battleboro, Liggett and Conetoe.

“We know we have a lot of our students that may only eat the meals provided here at school – breakfast and lunch,” says school social worker Stephanie Gay. “So knowing that they are going to have the opportunity to have an additional meal at home means a lot.”

The Food Shuttle has been working with North Edgecombe for over a year to try and get a pantry started. That’s when Food Lion Feeds stepped up with a Great Pantry Makeover.

“There is nothing more special for us to be able to come into a building and to give back,” says Trish Berdnarz, Food Lion Director of Operations, Rocky Mount-Goldsboro region. “When we walk away, we want it to make life easier for the school to be able to support people in need. It’s a sad situation when almost all of one school’s population is at risk of hunger.”

The new pantry will serve the student population and their families, hoping to provide support to students so they can focus on learning.

“This is going to be transformative for our students, our school and our community,” says Donnell Cannon, North Edgecombe Principal. “We serve a few communities that are considered food deserts where our kids don’t have access to grocery stores or nutritious meals. We want to take that stressor off of our kids so they can focus on becoming who they want to become.”