CHARLOTTE — Eighth-graders from Our Lady of the Assumption School recently volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte.
In the community service project, students and teachers sorted and packaged food and non-food supplies that were then distributed throughout 24 local counties across North and South Carolina among the 800-plus partner agencies of Second Harvest.
These partner agencies include soup kitchens, emergency pantries, homeless shelters, senior programs and low-income daycares.
Since 1981, Second Harvest has aimed to eliminate hunger through advocacy, education and partnerships to collect and distribute food. Second Harvest employs programs to bring aid to children, seniors, families, veterans and pets. For example, one children’s program that OLA supports is the Backpack Program, which provides children at risk for hunger with backpacks full of ready-to-eat, nutritious foods for weekends and holidays when school meals are not available.
Last year, Second Harvest distributed more than 60 million pounds of food and other household items throughout its service region.
— Photo provided by Timothy Galarde