Project HOPE seeking help as food supply drops to worrying levels

Little kids can have the biggest ears.

When Leah Ackerman overheard her father, Charles, talk about the need to raise donations for Rock Hill’s Project HOPE in the face of a troubling food shortage, she sprang into action.

To celebrate her 7th birthday Wednesday, Leah organized a lemonade stand that quickly reached her goal of $100, with the proceeds going to the crisis ministry for residents of Rock Hill and its school district.

Or, as she put it, “People need money to get food. Some people in Rock Hill can’t afford food and water. It makes me feel sad.”

Leah’s initiative gives some comfort to Project HOPE leaders, including executive vice president Stokes Mayfield. The organization is raising awareness ahead of a mass food drive this week to help make up for a recent shortfall in food that has left the organization with “about two weeks’ supply.”

Mayfield said late last week that Project HOPE regularly receives food from federal and state sources, but it has seen fewer and fewer deliveries in recent months. He said the ministry typically gives away 6,000 pounds of food every week.

“We had been getting 10-12 pallets of food monthly, but over the last three months, we’ve only gotten four or five,” he said. “It adds to their crisis, the families who come to us.”

Project HOPE stores much of its bulk food in the old press room at The Herald, but much of the supply has dwindled with increased demand in the summer months. The agency seeks to give to families whose children are on free or reduced-cost lunch at Rock Hill schools and have less chance to eat regular meals outside of the school year.

Leaders such as Sheila Neisler, who handles marketing for the organization, have been reaching out to the police department, churches, corporate partners and others around the area to help fill the gap. That’s where Becky and Charles Ackerman, along with their keen-eared daughter Leah, came into the picture.

Charles, who works at corporate partner InSure Insurance of Rock Hill, had been talking with Becky one day about the issues Project HOPE was facing.

When Leah announced her lemonade stand, Becky wasn’t even aware of what Leah was hoping to do with the money until Leah spilled the beans to her pediatrician.

“We went into the office, and (Leah) told the doctor about it, and he asked, ‘What are you going to do with it?’” said Becky Ackerman at the family’s house in Fort Mill. “And she goes, ‘I’ll be giving it to Project HOPE.’ The wheels in her mind had obviously been running for awhile.”

Neisler said the organization typically runs “foodraisers” about once a quarter, but the need increases during the hotter months. Project HOPE also helps needy families pay their utility bills and for prescription medication.

The group is able to purchase about six pounds of food for every dollar that comes through in donations, which helps to provide families with healthy meals that include whole grains, vegetables, chicken and bread. Of the first 30 families Project HOPE can help, Mayfield estimates about 23 of them have a food request.

However, if leaders are forced to reallocate funds from other areas to help pay for food, it could limit their ability to help struggling families in other ways.

According to information from Rock Hill Schools, 44 percent of its 17,000-student population is on a free lunch program, while another 8 percent is on a reduced-price program.

“We’re talking about people’s lives,” said Neisler. “We’re seeing a 25 percent increase in families coming in, maybe parents who have lost their job temporarily, but they still have to put food on the table. ... If there’s any minor emergency in the community, it’s likely we’ll run out of food.”

So far, the community has responded to the call: Neisler said one anonymous person has agreed to travel from a Charlotte-area Panera Bread restaurant in the evenings and bring back any extra bread the kitchen can give away.

The organization is supporting can drives throughout the city, with the police department, Family Trust Credit Union, Planet Fitness and Dollar General throwing support behind the project, according to Mayfield. Typical foods that are accepted include green beans, pasta, canned wheat, tuna fish, spaghetti sauce and peanut butter.

In the meantime, Leah will open up her lemonade stand again this coming Wednesday, at her father’s office on Cherry Road. She raised $108.91 on her first try, so now she’s dreaming bigger.

“I want to do more,” she said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Project HOPE seeking help as food supply drops to worrying levels."