ABC11 Together: Food donations take on extra meaning following Florence

As thousands of people continue to recover from Hurricane Florence, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina's services are in high-demand.

"We've had 22 of our 34 counties were federal disaster areas after Florence, so many many of those are still hurting," explained Jennifer Caslin, who works with the Food Bank.

Since the week following Hurricane Florence, they've provided more than 5.5 million pounds of food to storm victims. On top of that, they supply one million pounds of donations during a typical week.

With that in mind, the Food Bank is also requesting cleaning supplies, on top of non-perishable items.

"We're going to be there for the long haul to help those folks," Caslin said.

On Thursday, a group of Sanderson High students dropped off donations and encouraged others to do the same.

"It's really important because there are a lot of people really in need of food, especially as Sanderson. So it feels good to help out," said senior Griffin Law, who leads the school's Executive Council.

Caslin noted that while they have an increased need for donations during the summer, December also has its own challenges, from snow days to school breaks. Those absences from school can create difficult situations for students who rely on free or reduced meals.

"We've got about 600,000 people who are food insecure which means they may or may not know where their next meal is coming from," Caslin said.

For every dollar donated, the food bank can provide five meals.

Until Dec. 5, you can donate non-perishable items at your local Food Lion store.

Find the store nearest to you here.

You can also make monetary donations through Second Harvest FB of SENC or Food Bank of CENC.

This year's goal is to provide 1.1 million meals for our neighbors in need by giving to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast NC.

Click here to learn more how you can get involved.