In this series, Beyond the Table, we explore the root causes of hunger across our service area, spotlight the advocates working to address those issues and share ways you can join in to help us seek long-term solutions for our communities. Together, we can go beyond the table and work toward a future where everyone has the resources they need to thrive.
Hunger in Greene County
Greene is a rural county with just over 35,000 residents. Like many rural communities we’ve covered so far in our Beyond the Table series, behind this small-town charm and community lies a growing challenge—food insecurity. More than 4,900 people in Greene County—about 1 in 7 residents—face hunger. Among them, 1 in 5 children live in a household that may struggle to afford or access enough nutritious food. And for older adults, many living on fixed incomes, the struggle is real as well—9% of senior citizens in the county live at or below the poverty line. Hunger here isn’t always visible, but it’s deeply felt.
In rural communities like Greene, access is one of the greatest obstacles to food security. Grocery stores are often miles apart, and public transportation options are scarce or nonexistent. For families without a reliable vehicle, even getting to a food pantry can be a major hurdle. Parents of local school children have shared how timing and distance make it difficult to attend food distributions or access healthy options—especially during the summer months when school meals are unavailable.
Summer can be particularly hard for families who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year. Without those regular breakfasts and lunches, many children face a nutritional gap that can lead to poor health and learning setbacks.
Our Work in Greene County
We partner with the only Food Bank in Greene County, Corner Cupboard Food Bank. We support Corner Cupboard Food Bank with impact grants for equipment, supplies, and food. They have a variety of programs including emergency food boxes, a partner network of 11 sites, and the Kid’s Bag Program. The Kid’s Bag Program is one of our Summer Youth Café sites which is a federally funded child nutrition program that distributes kid-friendly food items to children during the summer.
FIND A SUMMER YOUTH CAFE SITE NEAR YOU
This program goes the extra mile—literally. Corner Cupboard operates a repurposed ice cream truck that visits six pickup locations each week, distributing up to five days’ worth of breakfasts and lunches to more than sixty households per site. Corner Cupboard has a small 4 person staff and to support them with the increased workload in the summer we are funding 2 temporary summer positions to help with the Kid’s Bag Program.
READ MORE ABOUT CORNER CUPBOARD’S WORK IN OUR LATEST DONOR NEWSLETTER
And thanks to flexible rules for rural areas, families can pick up multiple meals to take home, offering a practical solution for those without nearby access to meal sites.
Food Bank programs like this one have helped distribute over 771,000 pounds of food, including 209,000 pounds of fresh produce, to people across Greene County. In addition, the Food Bank has distributed nearly 821,000 meals to 2,800+ individuals annually in the county.
Here’s How You Can Help:
There are many ways to get involved with our work in Greene County. You can get involved with the Food Bank in three simple ways:
- Advocating for anti-hunger policies with your local and state officials to protect nutrition programs, especially in rural areas where need is high and options are limited. Start by signing up for our Advocacy Newsletter to receive timely alerts on current actions and ways to alleviate food insecurity.
- Donating to support programs and operations that make our mission possible in Greene County. Every $1 donated to the Food Bank can help provide up to 3 meals to neighbors in need. Unlike going to the grocery store, we work directly with manufacturers, retailers, local farmers and government agencies to source foods in mass quantities (some of which would have otherwise gone to waste) for distribution.
Are you in need or want to give back to an organization in Greene County? Visit our Food Finder Tool and type in “Greene County” when prompted to enter an address or ZIP Code.