BY SUSAN DICKSON
Staff Writer
The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service has received a $25,000 grant from Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina for programs related to the Food Pantry and Community Kitchen Program.
Chris Moran, executive director of the IFC, said the organization had previously received grants from Sisters of Mercy, but not for the past several years. This year, Moran said, Sisters of Mercy seemed to really appreciate what the IFC said in their grant request.
“There are many more people in need,†Moran said. “It’s a wider group of folks in need than there used to be.â€
According to Moran, 2,777 households are active food pantry members. IFC’s Community Kitchen served nearly 92,000 meals in 2009, while its Food Pantry distributed 14,201 bags of groceries and 761 holiday meals with the help of more than 500 volunteers and more than $567,000 in food contributions.
The organization relies on grants, donations and public funding to provide food, shelter, services, advocacy and information to needy members of the community. While public funding has scaled back, Moran said community donations have kept the organization going.
“I think that a lot of community donors really understand and really appreciate organizations like ours that are dealing with basic needs every day,†he said. “There’s been a lot of generosity, not only from gifts. We have many more volunteers participating.â€
The community has provided generous food donations as well, Moran said, though adding that, “If everybody came in that is eligible for food, we’d be out of food.â€
Forty-six organizations throughout North and South Carolina will receive grants totaling more than $2 million from Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina for a wide variety of services, including affordable housing, children’s services, crisis assistance, education, food distribution, health care, immigration assistance, job training and social services.