For those who struggle with hunger, who are struggling to make ends meet, the holidays are an especially difficult time of year.

It’s extremely gratifying that a little more than a week before Thanksgiving, the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of leasing a property on 1550 Anderson Highway for a permanent location for a food bank in the county.

The food bank is located just next to the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension, the former site of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services.

Volunteers with Cumberland County Cares (CCC), an organization that heads the food pantry and a mobile pantry, have provided a valuable and needed asset. Doris Seal with the CCC said the organization began distributing food in May 2014, and said the organization had provided goods for 79 people. During September of this year, Seal said, the number has risen to 194 people. At the end of this year or the beginning of 2018, the number may climb to 200.

In addition, Seal cited that an estimated 16.7 percent of community members are considered food insecure at any given time, meaning that potentially, nearly one in five people in the area wonder about their next meal.

A number of nonprofit organizations and places of worship have given hours upon hours of time and resources to share with people who may be struggling to make ends meet or who lack transportation due to disability or age.

Board Chairman Kevin Ingle said it well, “I know from being on the Social Services Board how critical food availability is to families who just can’t quite make it 30 days a month. I admire you all for what you all are doing.”

The numbers appear to speak volumes that a food pantry will greatly benefit members of the Cumberland community. We commend members of the Board of Supervisors for approving this opportunity, for members of the CCC who have spent years helping families and individuals who need it most and for community organizations who have assisted the CCC and other nonprofits to help feed families both during the holidays and throughout the year.

EMILY HOLLINGSWORTH is a staff writer for The Farmville Herald and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. Her email address is Emily.Hollingsworth@FarmvilleHerald.com.