{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"What’s Up, Wake","title":"Feeding NC: Amy Beros of Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Fights to End Hunger","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1916,"description":"In this episode of What's Up Wake, Melissa sits down with Amy Beros, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, to discuss hunger and food insecurity across the region.\nAmy shares the story of how the Food Bank began in 1980 with Barbara Oates and a small group of volunteers, growing from a card table and phone in a Cary garage into an organization serving 34 counties through six locations. She explains how rising grocery, housing, healthcare, and transportation costs are affecting working families, seniors, and children, and why food insecurity is often much closer to home than people realize.\nThe conversation also takes listeners behind the scenes of the Food Bank's complex logistics, from moving 100 million pounds of food each year to working with grocery stores, farmers, manufacturers, schools, and community partners. Amy explains how donations such as Food Lion's contributions, locally grown produce, and even unexpected truckloads of strawberries and eggs can quickly make their way into communities that need them.\nMelissa and Amy also discuss the stigma surrounding food insecurity, the importance of providing food with dignity, and the challenges of transportation and access in both urban and rural communities. With September being Hunger Action Month, Amy shares ways people can get involved through volunteering, donating, and advocacy, including the Food Bank's Plate It Forward campaign and other community initiatives.\n00:00 Bloomin' Blinds Raleigh\n00:32 Local Sponsor Spotlight\n01:24 Hunger Conversation Begins\n02:32 Food Bank Origin Story\n04:52 Amy’s Path to Service\n05:43 Rising Hunger Crisis\n07:08 Kids and School Meals\n09:22 Schools and College Pantries\n10:07 Inside Food Bank Logistics\n13:41 Access and Transportation Barriers\n17:01 Farmers and Food Partnerships\n19:02 Stigma and Misconceptions\n22:05 How You Can Help\n24:35 Advocacy and SNAP\n26:06 Service Area and Rural Challenges\n28:10 Hunger Action Month\n29:04 Hope and Youth...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/3FPpkJ7JIRSxqmup6bUJfqr8_rMrqpK7grf9C8PwVsk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9iNmM5/OWRmY2Y4NDg0ZDEy/YjlmZjdkZDdhNDI2/OTJiZC5qcGVn.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}