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National Guard Will Pitch In At North Carolina Food Banks

ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP PHOTO

Members of North Carolina's National Guard will assist with operations at the state's food banks. They'll be deployed to help out for at least one month.  

About 40 Guard members are expected to arrive at Winston-Salem's Second Harvest Food Bank on Thursday. 

The News & Record reports it's one of seven regional food banks that will get assistance from the state militia.

Second Harvest serves those in need throughout the Triad, including Guilford, Rockingham, and Forsyth counties.

Members of the National Guard will perform a variety of tasks, including helping with warehouse operations, sorting and inspecting food, and assisting with food deliveries to Area Agencies on Aging and school nutrition programs.

Officials with the food bank say the need for food assistance is skyrocketing, with over 680,000 North Carolinians losing their jobs and filing for unemployment since mid-March.

North Carolina Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry says that while the physical help from the National Guard is appreciated, financial contributions remain the biggest need for area food banks.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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