The Food Project

In May of 2016, Weaver Foundation allocated $500,000 to be invested over a two-year period to address hunger in Guilford County. We partnered with several local nonprofits with expertise in this area and collectively began to identify existing gaps in our community around food insecurity and to seek out sustainable solutions to meet those needs.

Our initial focus was Greater Greensboro within the Guilford County Schools (GCS) system. We collaborated with six schools to help address the hunger and food insecurity for their students and families. In recent years support has been focused on local food nonprofits serving children, families, and individuals throughout our community. As of 2022, Weaver Foundation has invested over $1,250,000 through the Food Project.

Why focus on hunger in Guilford County? The facts are staggering:

• In Guilford County Schools, 67% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
• In NC, nearly 1 in 4 children are food insecure.
• Students who experience food insecurity miss more days of school, have lower test scores, experience more behavior correction, and often drop out of school at significantly higher rates.
• Greensboro has more than 17 food deserts, areas where access to food is difficult. Families must often take a bus to grocery stores and public transportation has limits on how many grocery bags can be carried. Or families spend extra money on a taxi or car service to bring food home, increasing the overall cost to their budget.

Weaver Foundation and our Food Project partners believe that by combining our knowledge and resources, we can make a significant impact on eliminating hunger’s grasp on our community.