In times of need, food pantries are here to help

While some of us are deciding on the holiday dinner leftovers to have for breakfast or making promises we won’t keep to begin workout and weight loss routines, others are navigating how to gain access to daily meals.

The most recently reported statistics (2023) from the Food Research & Action Center show almost 50 million Americans having experienced food insecurity in their households (one in seven American households).

These individuals were challenged with accessing enough nutritious foods and often went hungry as a result. Of those individuals nearly 15 million were children.

With the rising cost of food, and a government shutdown that halted food stamp payouts in the very recent past – food pantries have become a very valuable resource, particularly for communities that routinely face financial challenges.

Among the challenges so many families and individuals face in 21st century America are economic instability, access to quality education, access to quality healthcare, declining neighborhood environments and depreciating social and community interactivity.

Food security is near the top of the list when it comes to achieving economic stability.

Why? Because it’s difficult to find success at much else when one is hungry or malnourished. Simply stated, as human beings, we need food to survive. Without the strength proper nourishment provides, it’s more than just daunting to conquer the daily challenges of life and living.

Fortunately, food pantries continue to meet the needs of many with donations, volunteers and grateful recipients across the Carolinas.

Most often, pantries serve all of the community, including ours. Many are staffed, operated and recommended by LGBTQ+ advocates and community members who routinely fight to make sure everyone has access to food.

Locally, Block Love Charlotte has provided over 2.5 million meals since 2020, and that’s not just bags of groceries. With a keen eye on bridging the gap between homelessness and thriving, Block Love Charlotte offers groceries, hot cooked meals and countless items needed by those facing hunger and housing instability.

Open every day but Wednesdays, folks don’t need an appointment to line up at Block Love Charlotte on any Friday from 1-4 p.m., where they will be able to select from proteins, canned goods, breads and snacks. Just days before Thanksgiving, Block Love Charlotte included ground beef, turkeys and racks of ribs in their offerings to needy community members.

Hearts United For Good (HUGCLT) has already provided over 48, 000 pounds of food (Jan – June 2025) to local area residents who line up weekly for HUG’s weekly drive through pantry every Wednesday. Grateful motorists receive bags of groceries for themselves and their families in an organized and intentional manner. For those on HUG’s food pantry line, they can also find food for their four legged family members too, as HUG also tackles Animal Welfare and Homeless Outreach.

Local LGBTQ and health and wellness organizations make referrals to these pantries and others that require referrals from Community Health Workers, Case Managers, Patient Navigators and Peer Support Specialists, to name a few.

Nourish Up and Hearts and Hands Food Pantry are two of them.

Nourish Up offers a seven-day food supply for the creation of 21 nutritionally balanced meals of each person on the referral. Items include canned and dry goods, fresh produce along with dairy and fresh meat when available.

Anyone can receive food from Nourish Up regardless of income. They take their mission so seriously their website offers additional resources for food outside of what their organization can provide. Visitors to the Nourish Up website will not only find information on how to receive food from them, but also a comprehensive list of churches and community organizations offering food on particular dates and times. Clearly, when they say, “We accept no excuses for our neighbors going hungry” they mean it.

At Hearts and Hands they believe “Food is a basic human right” and have served over 100,000 Charlotte area residents since 2017. At Hearts and Hands, part of the referral process is learning what individuals cannot or will not eat. This means folks are not just given a bag of food with items that might be harmful to their health or wasted. Individuals have an opportunity to make their nutritional needs known so that a diabetic for instance doesn’t receive items that will negatively impact their glucose levels and vegans won’t be gifted with pot roast and ham sandwiches. It’s not just thoughtful, it’s pretty cool too. Even cooler is the fact that Nourish Up and Hearts and Hands also offer delivery options for those unable to use their curbside services for food pick up.

Outside of Charlotte, the Carolinas continue to step up to meet the need of food insecurity and some with particular focus on serving marginalized LGBTQ community members.

The Gwendolyn Iris Woodard Rawls Food Pantry is located at Sacred Souls UCC. Rev. Sherry Foust is sponsoring a Fall Food Drive through December to bring awareness to the needs in the community. They are open Thursday mornings from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 Noon. Food Pantry immediate needs are; Cash donations (used to purchase food at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and other Grocery Stores) and non-perishable food like, can meats (chicken, tuna, beef, turkey, ham) vegetable, fruit, dry goods, peanut butter and snacks. Donations can be made on Thursday mornings or Sundays at the church. Monetary donations may also be mailed to the church address marked for the Gwendolyn Rawls Food Pantry.

The LGBTQ Center of Durham has partnered with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (an LGBTQ owned business) in their efforts to assist food insecure community members.

Asheville’s Tranzmission program provides food to transgender and non-binary individuals in Western North Carolina through Talya Mazuz Memorial Food Pantry.

Cornbread & Roses serves rural Western NC by creating inclusive spaces with low barriers to access to their food pantry, which is open to all those in need.

For LGBTQ+ community members who can’t find safe and/or affirming assistance (beyond what is included in this article), consider checking with a local LGBTQ+ Community Center, the LGBTQ Chamber of the Carolinas, Pride Organizations or affirming health and wellness organization for referrals. For those not facing food insecurity, we encourage you to reach out to a food pantry to learn more about how you can assist via food and monetary donations or volunteering your time to assist community members in need.

FOOD PANTRIES AND RESOURCES FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE

CHARLOTTE

Block Love Charlotte

https://blockloveclt.org

Gwendolyn Iris Woodard Rawls Food Pantry

2127 Eastway Drive, Charlotte, NC 28205

980-301-5863

Hearts United For Good

https://www.hugclt.org

Nourish Up

https://nourishup.org/

Hearts and Hands