The shelves at Hope Mills Methodist Church’s food pantry don’t stay full for long. On distribution days, families from across Cumberland County walk the aisles, filling bags with canned vegetables, dry goods, and meat. For many, the food they carry home will provide two or three crucial meals in a week when other options are scarce.
At the heart of the program is director Walt Thomson, who has watched demand steadily climb.
“We do not ask them where they come from,” Thomson said. “All we need is for them to come in and say, ‘I don’t have any food, I’m hungry,’ and we’ll take care of them.”…