Banks helping food pantry replenish shelves
BY WALI PITT
CHRONICLE INTERN
For most people in the Triad,
summertime is just fun in the sun.
Perhaps that is why many people
seem to have forgotten the poor
and hungry in our community.
However, Wachovia and First
Union have teamed up with Sec
ond Harvest Food Bank of
Northwest North Carolina and
Greensboro Urban Ministries to
collect food from Triad compa
nies, groceries, and citizens for
the third annual Summer Harvest
Food Drive.
Officials of the Second Har
vest Food Bank of Northwest
North Carolina noticed an alarm
ing trend when they saw that
their food donations were consid-'
erably lower in the summer
months. Three years ago Second
Harvest Food Bank connected
with Wachovia and Greensboro
Urban Ministries to start the
Summer Harvest Food Drive.
This year's drive should be
particularly successful due to the
recent merger between Wachovia
and First Union. There are more
branches for donations to be
received, including 22 in Win
ston-Salem. 18 in Greensboro,
and six in High Point, not to men
tion the branches in smaller
towns (donations will go directly
to agencies in those areas). c
The summer is always a hard
time for the food bank.
This summer there is only
700,000 pounds of food in stock.
which is only a fraction of the
needed 1.5 million pounds of
food normally in stock
Jenny Moore of Second Har
vest said the food bank "will sur
vive" through the hard times with
the help of this food drive and
numerous other drives that will
take place throughout the year.
One main concern of this drive is
to provide food assistance to chil
dren who receive free meals dur
ing the school year and during
special summer programs. These
children?ually receive one-third
to one-half of their daily nutrients
from meals received at school,
and many rely on free meals at
special summer camps and pro
grams. Officials say that if dona
tions don't pick up, some of the
program's free-lunch programs
could he jeopardized.
"There are more than 17.600
children in Forsyth County and
more than 26.IXX) in Guilford on
the USDA national lunch/break
fast; many of them face a greater
threat of hunger in the summer
time without this program," said
Nan Holbrook Griswold, the
executive director of Second
Harvest Food Bank of Northwest
North Carolina.
The Greensboro Urban Min
istry also helps families of the
Triad, so it makes sense to help
with a f<x)d drive to benefit the
cause. The ministry operates
several programs serving the
needy, including a family shelter,
men's shelter, soup kitchen and
emergency food pantry.
Faye Ellison, director of the
food bank of Greensboro Urban
Ministries, said, "With expecta
tions that we'll double our emer
gency food assistance this year
over 2002. we appreciate receiv
ing fixx) from the community to
help us fill this burgeoning
need."
The organizations are hoping
that helping people in need will
be a concern for Triad residents
all year, not just during the holi
day season.
Take nonperishable items
such as Hamburger Helper, Tuna
Helper, canned tuna, macaroni
and cheese, canned fruit, and
vegetables to any Wachovia or
First Union
Photo by Courtney (iaillard
Donation boxes like this one will be clearly visible in branch
es of Wachovia and First Union.
Red, white and (Dan) Blue
Photo courtesy of Blue for Senate
Democratic U.S.
Senate hopeful Dan
Blue spent the
Fourth of July in
Greensboro, where
he took part in the
city's annual Free
dom Walk. A team
of Blue supporters
decorated Blue's
Dodge Ram and
walked alongside
as Blue waved to
the crowd and
shook hands. Blue
will face several
Democrats in the
upcoming primary,
which is expected to
take place soon.
Charters
from page AI
In its report, the center rec
ommends that the 100 cap be
kept for at least five years so that
data can be examined to deter
mine if charter schools are worth
while. The report also recom
mends that the General Assembly
implement rules that would
require charter school officials to
spend a year planning and secur
ing finances before opening
schools to students.
The center says this will help
reduce the number of charter
schools that struggle with finan
cial management. The State
Board of Education has revoked
the charters of 14 schools since
1997. Most of them lost their
charters because of financial
malfeasance. Among the closed
schools cited in the report for
financial difficulties was LIFT
Academy, a Winston-Salem
school that closed after the 2000
2001 school year after waging a
legal challenge to the state's
claim that the school misman
aged its finances.
NCCPPR also recommends
that the General Assembly not
grant charters to schools that will
target a "narrow racial or ethnic
population." If accepted, this rec
ommendation could stop the
development of Afro-centric
charter schools that aim to teach
the three R's from a black per
spective. Of the six charter
schools in Forsyth County, two
were cited in the report for their
lack of racial balance. Carter G.
Woodson School of Challenge
and Quality Education Academy.
Both of the schools have Afro
centric themes. According to the
report, both had school student
populations that were 100 per
cent non-white during the 1999
2000 school year.
CUIlNg II11CIVICWS Willi IMC
Chronicle, administrators, teach
ers and parents have said the
focus on African and African
American culture has helped
QEA students excel and has
increased their self-esteem.
Others support that point of
view. Jackie Mburu. director of
Wake County's SPARC Acade
my, a school that has only black
students, said there are more
pressing issues than diversity.
"Diversity is an issue, but the
first thing we've got to do is get
these kids satisfied with them
selves." Mburu is quoted as say
ing in the NCCPPR report.
"Once we build their self-esteem,
then they can reach out to other'
groups."
The NCCPPR report also
brings into question the ability of
charter schools to educate chil
dren. The report says that charters
have not performed as well as
public schools on the state's con
troversial end-of-grade tests.
During the 2000-2001 school
year, only 22 charter schools met
exemplary or expected growth on
the tests, while 56 charters
received no recognition or were
designated as "low performing."
But charter schools have made
some gains. The report points out
that for the 2000-2001 school
year, nearly 54 percent of charter
school fourth-graders passed the
state's writing test, up from the
36.2 percent that passed the test
the previous year.
IMIIIUIIJJ I
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