WILMINGTON — Vertex Outreach Services, a subsidiary of Vertex Railcar Corporation, has awarded NourishNC with a grant of $30,724. With this grant, Vertex Outreach Services will be sponsoring NourishNC’s Backpack Program for children at Rachel Freeman Elementary School and the Dorothy B. Johnson Pre-K Center. The grant will provide healthy food to 65 hungry children every weekend and over all school breaks for an entire year.
“Vertex has been a committed partner in the fight against child hunger in New Hanover County. This grant is the embodiment of Vertex’s philosophy of ‘Be Good, Do Good’. We are beyond excited to continue our partnership with Vertex and their employees who volunteer at our warehouse monthly” said NourishNC Executive Director, Steve McCrossan.
The mission of NourishNC’s Backpack Program is to “Provide Healthy Food to Hungry Children, Empowering Them to Succeed in the Classroom and Their Community.”
The program’s primary focus is to provide supplemental food assistance to chronically hungry children in New Hanover County. The goal is to enhance children’s health and well-being by preventing the disastrous consequences of child hunger. The Backpack Program feeds 710 children from 35 New Hanover county schools. NourishNC feeds these children every weekend and over all school breaks.
1 in 4 children struggle with hunger and nearly 50% of the children in New Hanover County schools qualify for free or reduced lunch. School personnel identify children that are going hungry on the weekends and over school breaks. Once the families of these children join the Backpack Program, the student is given a backpack that includes 8 meals, two snacks, and fresh produce to take home every weekend. For all school breaks NourishNC also provides all children on our program with at least 3 meals a day, healthy snacks, juice, milk and fresh produce. We call these “Break Boxes.”
Vertex Outreach Services is a program designed to support local communities through services and volunteerism. Outreach is focused on fulfilling the basic needs of children: food, shelter and safety. Vertex has a goal to be invested in their employees and in making a meaningful difference in the communities where they live, work and play.
For more information on NourishNC or our partnership with Vertex Railcar Corporation please contact Executive Director Steve McCrossan at (910) 465-0995, Director@nourishnc.org, or visit www.nourishnc.org
-Content provided by NourishNC
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