Winston Salem Times

Food insecurity in Winston-Salem has been exacerbated by COVID-19, according to a staff manager with Help Our People Eat (HOPE) whose mission is to provide nutritious food to children on the weekends and education classes to adults and children.

“Access to fresh produce, nutritious food and good food is a gap we’re trying to bridge,” said Scott Best, HOPE’s executive director. “Meals that we make always have a piece of fruit and it's tougher and tougher to keep those supplies coming in of fruit. The best things are apples, oranges, peaches and plums because they fit nicely in the lunch bags we package. The kids can grab them, carry them and eat them easily. The kids love apples and oranges.” 

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports 339,194 coronavirus cases and more than 5,000 fatalities statewide as of Nov. 24. In Forsyth County, where Winston-Salem is located, there are 12,249 coronavirus cases and 157 deaths.

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Prior to the emergence of the pandemic, student-athletes from Wake Forest University were heavily involved in distributing meals on Sundays, which is HOPE’s biggest day of distribution. 

“Wake Forest student-athletes are involved with the distribution of food but they also have helped with making and bagging the meals,” Best told the Winston-Salem Times. “Small groups and teams are a good fit for that and the kids love seeing the athletes, some of whom were raised in the neighborhood.”

HOPE was connected to Wake Forest University’s athletics department five years ago through Brandon Chubb, who was a football player at the university in 2015.

“Brandon was interested in what we offered the community and got the football team involved in our distribution of meals,” Best said in an interview. “From there it evolved. Since then I've had student volunteers from men's and women's soccer teams. I've had basketball players, different cross-country [runners] and we've also connected members of the golf team.”

Fourteen of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons athletic teams have volunteered as a group at least once during the year, according to the university’s website where charity groups can request a team’s volunteer assistance

“Our Sunday afternoon distribution is where the big green truck goes outside into the elements and stops in each neighborhood,” Best said. “We need a lot of volunteers for it. The commitment is a little more than 3.5 hours.”

HOPE distributes 1,000 meals each weekend, according to Best, and when student-athletes volunteer, they tailgate HOPE’s green food truck and distribute grab-and-go sack meals containing a sandwich, fruit and a healthy snack.

“Student-athletes are good role models,” Best said. “A lot of the kids look up to sports figures. They are a very welcome set of people for the kids to interact with. The kids enjoy talking to athletes.”