The Urban Ministries Food Pantry in Raleigh is taking a new approach to how it collects food: a 52-week approach.

The organization, which provides food, shelter and healthcare, launched a yearlong food drive aimed at preventing the holiday and summer slump in food donations. The kick-off event occurred Friday.

Urban Ministries has been in operation for 31 years.  

According to Urban Ministries Director of Development John Welch, the pantry’s acquirement of food tends to “ebb and flow.” In January, the number of donations typically dwindles after the holiday contributions. The summer months are also tough for the pantry as demand goes up due to children being out of school.

“If all donations were to cease today there would only be enough food to last three days [and] it is easy to run dry,” Welch said.

The pantry is currently fit to feed about 40 families per day. Welch said he hopes to increase this number with the food drive. Urban Ministries assigns various community organizations to help the pantry collect food each for one week during the yearlong food drive.

 The organization focuses on lower income populations whose income is equal to 185 percent of the poverty level. Often, recipients are, “hanging on by a thread,” and by giving them a week’s worth of food, Urban Ministries helps them to focus on redistributing their finances to fulfill the payment of other expenses such as healthcare or transportation, Welch said.

According to Welch, necessary measures are also taken to ensure pantry-goers do not take advantage of the facility and use it as they would a grocery store.

With $1,500 per year, the food pantry is equipped with 20 full-time staff and about 1,600 volunteers. As far as donations go, 94 cents of every dollar goes directly to the program, Welch said.

Volunteers at the pantry assist with landscaping and stocking shelves, which receive an average of 45,000 pounds of food per month.

According to Welch, the most needed and preferred donations include non-expired food with a long shelf life, like dry beans and rice, though items needing refrigeration will also be accepted.

Urban Ministries also helps Wake County residents by providing free medical care and pharmaceuticals to those who qualify. Other services include guidance for those seeking employment.

The Urban Ministries homeless shelter provides women with a safe place to stay at night and community programs with case managers during the day. The goal, according to Welch, is to make these women self-sufficient. Women are allowed to stay at the shelter for a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of 120 days.

N.C. State can assist the food pantry by “letting people know we need help,” Welch said.

Center for Student Ethics Leadership and Public Service Representative Alex Parker said he hopes CSLEPS can eventually help the Urban Ministries food pantry, though it is not currently his biggest concern.

Veteran Urban Ministries volunteer Ralph Hartung said Urban Ministries is a great place to volunteer because it provides people with the opportunity to work directly with people who need help.

“I can feel the gratitude of the people coming [here],” Welch said.

According to Welch, the state of the economy is making it difficult for those who fall ill to feed their children. Other visitors to the pantry may be suffering from substance abuse or a chronic illness like diabetes.

“Wake County has real needs and sometimes that gets lost because people assume we’re doing well,” Welch said.