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Hatteras Island Meals expands to run Cape Hatteras Food Pantry; group asks county for more funding amid supply shortfalls
Summary
Hatteras Island Meals told commissioners the nonprofit now manages the Cape Hatteras Food Pantry, is serving more people, faces supply cuts from the regional food bank, and asked the county to consider increasing quarterly funding from the current $6,000.
Hatteras Island Meals told the Dare County Board of Commissioners it has taken over operation of the Cape Hatteras Food Pantry and is seeking additional county support after regional food-bank shortages reduced donated shelf-stable supplies.
At the meeting, Hatteras Island Meals representatives described delivering hot lunches five days a week to people who cannot prepare meals, operating a pantry at the Buxton United Methodist Church site, and increasing service volumes in 2024.
Ada (presenter name given on the record) said Hatteras Island Meals is a 501(c)(3) that delivers hot lunch five days a week to 50–60 in-home recipients and now runs the Cape Hatteras Food Pantry, where vetted clients make appointments to shop for shelf-stable and perishable items. Maria Gould was identified as president of Hatteras Island Meals; Kathy Diemer as director of the Cape Hatteras Food Pantry, and Sarah Barley as a volunteer.
The group told commissioners that Hatteras Island Meals delivered 8,762 meals in 2023 and 11,602 meals in 2024, and that last year those meals cost about $76,167. Since taking over the pantry in the prior fall the organization reported serving roughly 500 people per month and about 220 households (figures measured from the pantry’s startup through the meeting). Food Lion in Avon donates fresh and frozen product; Hatteras Island Meals supplements shelf-stable items by purchasing from local vendors such as Connors and through periodic island food drives.
The presenters said funding from the regional Food Bank of the Albemarle has been reduced and that supply cuts there have constrained the pantry’s access to shelf-stable food. Ada explained the Food Bank director’s ability to supply pantries is limited by broader cuts, and the pantry has not been able to obtain expected product lines from the Food Bank of the Albemarle.
Hatteras Island Meals said it currently receives $6,000 per quarter from Dare County (a total of $24,000 per year) and asked the board to consider increasing that allocation during upcoming budget deliberations. Board members acknowledged the organization’s operational model and the volunteers’ role in daily deliveries and pantry logistics. The chairman noted the commissioners are in budget discussions and said they would “give it full consideration” before the county budget is finalized.
Commissioners and presenters emphasized the program’s nonfinancial benefits: regular delivery drivers often check on recipients’ welfare and have called 911 in emergencies. The presenters described the operation as largely volunteer-run with roughly 70–75 volunteers and no paid staff, and they said 100% of donated funds go to meals or pantry food purchases.
No formal appropriation was made at the meeting; commissioners said they would consider the request during the county’s budget process.
