Three times each month, the staff and volunteers at Eagle’s Wings Food Pantry make a special trip. Packing vans full of food, laptops and mobile wireless hotspots, the nonprofit visits communities on the south side of the Pamlico River, providing nutritious food to those who need it most.

“After two years, we’re making a breakthrough south of the river,” said Eagle’s Wings Executive Director Ann-Marie Montague. “We’ve jumped from taking care of maybe 30 families, up to between 85 and 90 families each month. It’s unreal.”

October marks two years that Eagle’s Wings South has been offering food distributions in Edward and Aurora, and earlier this month, the nonprofit received support from the Louise Lester Foundation to help fund those efforts. A donation from the Foundation in the amount of $10,000, specifically earmarked for Eagle’s Wings South, will fund that program for at least four months, Montague says.

“The $10,000 represents operating expenses to get the food, bring it down to these locations that we utilize and to do the distributions and reach out to these families,” Montague said. “It costs money to feed people.”

While some of the food Eagle’s Wings provides comes through the Food Bank of the Albemarle and the USDA, other items have to be purchased at retail prices. The day before the satellite distributions, staff and volunteer go shopping for items such as fresh produce.

“Those are the bags where we’re told that’s the only fresh produce they get to see all month,” Montague said. “We don’t buy anything fancy. We’re talking about potatoes, onions, carrots, lettuce and tomatoes and some fruit items.”

For some people living in Beaufort County’s most isolated areas, these distributions fill a tremendous need. With some residents lacking transportation, and the nearest grocery store approximately 30 miles away, accessibility to food can become a major issue.

On a rotating basis, the nonprofit visits three sites in the Aurora/Edward area. Each distribution lasts from 10 a.m. until noon. Sites include:

• New Growth Unlimited Ministries on Peedtown Road, Aurora
• Citizens On the Southside Together Community Center, N.C. Highway 33, Edward.
• Mallard Creek apartment and Fisher Village apartment complexes, Aurora.

At each location, Montague says Eagle’s Wings serves an average of 30 families each month. At New Growth Unlimited and COST, the two organizations use their own vehicles and resources to go out into the community, picking up those who might not be able to get there because of a lack of transportation.

For those who benefit from the distributions, Montague says there is a true need.

“We interview and qualify all these families to make sure that they need this kind of assistance, and they do,” Montague said. “We are so grateful to organizations like the Lester Foundation that enable us to continue this wonderful work, because we see the need, and we see how grateful people are when they get these boxes of groceries.”

While the $10,000 donation from the Lester Foundation will fully fund Eagle’s Wings South for approximately four months, there is a year-round need for donations at the nonprofit, which does not receive federal or state funding. To meet the organization’s budget, Eagle’s Wings depends on charitable donations from individuals, churches and grant funding sources.

“Every year, we start and know we have to fund all of our programs to make it happen, because people depend on us,” Montague said. “People have to eat, not just at the holiday times, but all year long. Their donations are used all year long to make sure we have healthy, nutritious food for the people who need it.”

To learn more about Eagle’s Wings, or to make a donation, visit www.eagles-wings.org.