Inter-Faith Food Shuttle

Inter-Faith Food Shuttle envisions a hunger free community. We FEED our neighbors, TEACH self-sufficiency, GROW healthy foods by cultivating innovative approaches to end hunger. We do this by engaging communities facing hunger to understand their unique needs and barriers. Then by building relationships and engaging our neighbors, we create programs and initiatives that meet specific needs, breaking the cycles of poverty and restoring dignity. We have served the seven counties of central NC for over 35 years and are a member of the Feeding America network of 200 food banks across the nation.

Under the umbrella of FEED – We are committed to feeding children, families, and seniors by recovering, preparing, and distributing food including nearly 9 million pounds of food this past fiscal year. FEED programs span our well-known Backpack Buddies that served over 2,600 children last year and School Pantries maintained right inside 10 schools last year, even with the pandemic. Additionally, Mobile Markets, which are direct distributions of groceries and fresh produce, are set up throughout our service area to meet families right in their own community. FEED also encompasses our longest standing program, Grocery Bags for Seniors, bringing produce and recipe and nutrition information to our seniors.  Our culinary team prepares meals for distribution to food pantry and meal program partners as well as delivering hot meals through The Spinning Plate Food Truck - which is even prepared to serve in times of disaster.

Within our TEACH initiatives, we are dedicated to teaching skills for self-sufficiency and empowering our neighbors to meet their own food needs. This includes agriculture education bringing gardening, cooking, and nutrition education to children and adults. Within our Community Health Education, the Food Shuttle implements a national program called Cooking Matters to bring education opportunities for our neighbors. This includes topics like how to read food labels, how to get the most nutrition out of a limited budget, and even how to cook and prepare healthy, affordable meals.

For our GROW initiatives, the Food Shuttle grows fresh produce at our 14-acre Farm in Raleigh and our Learning Gardens in Raleigh and Durham to distribute to our neighbors in need. Our learning gardens are also a place where community gardeners can grow their own produce and be a part of a community where mentorship and learning are cornerstones. Recently launched, our Gardens for Everyone project builds garden boxes at the homes of our neighbors or in partnership with nonprofits serving those at risk of hunger. Last fiscal year, the Food Shuttle and its volunteers built 110 garden boxes through this new project.What you will hear if you are around the Food Shuttle is “community taking care of community” -- at the center of all this is the vision to create a hunger free community where we all play a part in this vision.