The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina will officially open the new Food Lion FEEDS Hunger Solution Center on Tuesday afternoon in Durham. The 64,000-square-foot facility at Welcome Venture Park on Hamlin Road is designed to strengthen food distribution, volunteer engagement and advocacy efforts across the region.
The center was made possible in part through a $1 million investment from Food Lion FEEDS, the grocery retailer's hunger-relief platform.
According to Food Bank officials, hunger has reached its highest level in at least a generation in North Carolina.
"Communities are facing the worst hunger crisis that we've seen in at least a generation, if not more," said Jason Kanawati Stephany , Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.
Nearly 97,000 people across the six-county region served by the Durham branch do not know where their next meal will come from.
"That's one out of every six neighbors that you and I run into at the grocery store or out pumping gas," said Jason Kanawati Stephany .
The new center is expected to significantly expand the Food Bank's ability to move food quickly to families in need. Officials say the facility will serve as a hub for sourcing and distributing food, coordinating volunteers and strengthening long-term hunger relief efforts.
One of the center's biggest advantages will be its ability to handle fresher, locally grown food.
"This gives us such an incredible opportunity to bring in fresh, locally grown food straight out of the field into that facility, get it packaged up and back out into the community even faster than we have before," said Jason Kanawati Stephany.
The opening comes as food banks nationwide brace for increased demand tied to rising food prices and changes to federal food assistance programs.
According to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an estimated 4 million Americans lost SNAP benefits between July 2025 and April 2026, including roughly 1 million children in 19 states with available data.
The report found that SNAP participation declined in 49 states during that period following changes to eligibility requirements enacted under a federal tax and spending law approved last year.
Before those changes took effect, about 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits.
Food Bank leaders say the loss of benefits, combined with rising food costs, has increased demand for emergency food assistance across North Carolina and heightened the need for expanded community resources.
"We are truly grateful to our longtime partners at Food Lion for providing critical resources for the new Hunger Solution Center in Durham," Amy Beros, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina said in a statement. "Their generous support has helped to double our capacity to deliver fresh, Carolina-grown food to neighbors throughout the region."
Elected officials, community leaders and hunger-relief advocates are expected to attend Tuesday's grand opening. The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, facility tours and remarks from Food Bank and Food Lion leaders.
Food Bank leaders say the new Hunger Solution Center will help meet growing demand while expanding access to fresh food and long-term support for families across central and eastern North Carolina.