August 2023

Summer Associate Kevin Meese's Reflection:

When Joy Shillingsburg asked me to apply for Wake Forest Community Table’s (WFCT) eight-week Summer Associate position through AmeriCorps VISTA earlier this spring I was somewhat hesitant. Not hesitant to continue serving those in our community experiencing food insecurity, but more so in my ability to jump in and provide day-to-day guidance for a non-profit that has been in existence for nearly seven years. As a core WFCT volunteer server since April of 2021, and primarily on Monday nights at our Hope House location, I quickly realized 100’s of individuals would assist me in keeping WFCT running smoothly. From WFCT board members and food advisors, community partners, civic organizations, churches, local businesses, family donors, and faithful volunteers, there was never anything to be hesitant about lovingly serving those in our community we call home!

Highlights of what WFCT accomplished in my time serving as a Summer Associate over the past eight weeks include:

• 1,350 total meals served
• Average of 96 meals a night (seven weeks of service as we were off the week of July 4th)
• 473 breakfast and lunch items donated by Starbucks
• 34 boxes of produce harvested from the Wake Forest Presbyterian Church Giving Garden
• 200 backpack buddy bags donated by North East Wake Backpack Buddies
• 514 sweet and salty snacks donated by Wake Forest United Methodist Church
• $200 worth of diapers donated by Wake Forest Woman’s Club
• Agreements in process with Wegman's and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to provide more food resources for our community

I’ve been beyond blessed to serve my community on behalf of WFCT over the past eight weeks. As many of you know, I’ve made it my life’s calling to do what I can, for who I can, while I can, and specifically around those experiencing food insecurity. There are big plans ahead for not only myself, but Wake Forest Community Table. Continue following us on Facebook to learn more about where we’re going, and how you can assist us in the process!

Served Since April 2020: 30,586

At Hope House in 2023: 2,312

OBBC in 2023 (service began on 3/1/23) : 1,934

Summer has always been a high volume time of the year for our program, and this, our seventh Summer has been no different! If you stopped by WFCT this summer, you witnessed our AmeriCorps Summer Associate, Kevin Meese, hard at work coordinating volunteers, setting up for distribution and being a welcoming presence to all. Kevin worked behind the scenes this summer in the WF Presbyterian Giving Garden harvesting fresh produce and getting it to the Table as well as managing our social media. Kevin is a beloved member of our team and we are so grateful that he could spend extra time with us this summer. As most of you know, Kevin is working to make his dream of a "pay what you can cafe" in Wake Forest come to life. We look forward to the amazing this ahead as we work to address food insecurity in Wake Forest. Thank you, Kevin from the whole Table Team!

Save the Date for the next Wake Forest Community Gathering: Thursday October 5 from 5:30-7:45pm: Wondering, Wandering and Wheeling

Join us and bring a friend for an evening of storytelling, history and conversation in the Northeast End of Wake Forest. We will shuttle three groups to three historic locations: The DuBois Campus, the cemetary, and The Taylor St. Park throughout the evening. At each stop you will have the opportunity to wander with your neighbors and listen to the stories and history from community members and staff at the Wake Forest Museum. We will return to the Alston Massenburg Center for Table conversation about the tour. Spaces are limited.

Our meals on July 24 were sponsored by the Wake Forest Lion's Club. These amazing partners who have volunteered since our first summer, donated 90 meals, bottled water, desserts and volunteered to distribute the meals, meet the community and enjoy a beautiful evening together. Click HERE if your family, church, business or club would like to sponsor a meal. Your generosity keeps our program strong!