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RALEIGH -  Wool E. Bull and fellow mascot Sharky ran around the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina on Saturday to draw some laughs, but they were also there to bring attention to the serious problem of childhood hunger.
Wool E. Bull of the Durham Bulls and Sharky of the Wilmington Sharks helped unveil the new logos for the Food Bank's child nutrition programs that serve thousands of youngsters from the Triangle to Wilmington. The repeated message on Saturday was that many more children need help and that it's only possible if the public helps with donations.
"Children shouldn't have to worry about when they will have their next meal," said Earline Middleton, vice president of agency services and programs for the Food Bank.
More than 28 percent of North Carolina households answered there have been times in the past year they haven't had enough money to buy food, according to the study, Food Hardship in America 2010. In the Food Bank's 34-county service area, 34 percent of the more than 500,000 individuals who are at risk of hunger are children.
Officials from the Food Bank say that they're trying to address the problem with their Kids Meals & More programs that provide food on school days, weekends and in the summer.
At the Kids Cafe program, more than 1,500 children at 25 sites receive meals, nutrition information, mentoring and tutoring. Gideon Adams, the Food Bank's outreach, programs and evaluation manager, said they'd like to expand to 30 to 35 sites.
In the weekend Power Pack program, volunteers fill backpacks with food that's given to children so they'll have enough to eat over the weekend. In 2010, the program provided 141,550 backpacks.
"It's really hard for children to focus on learning when their stomachs are growling," said Louella Rutledge of Walnut Grove United Methodist Church in Hurdle Mills, which provides backpacks for students at three Orange County schools.
Rutledge said that so many students can use the backpacks that social workers are focusing on the children most in need.
Over the summer, the Food Bank's renamed Kids Summer Meals program provides low-income children with free breakfasts and lunches to cover the period during summer vacation when they don't have access to school meals. The program served more than 85,000 meals last year.
Middleton said that while people talk about childhood obesity in North Carolina, they shouldn't also forget the many children who get don't enough food.
"Hunger is no longer just the person standing on the side of the road holding up a sign," she said. "It could be the child next to you at school." |
McInturff will make his Sharks debut this summer following his junior season for the Dukes. Last summer McInturff played summer ball for the Vienna River Dogs in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. He ranked third in the league with a .357 batting average and started in center field for the CRCBL All-Star game. He was named to the All-League team and was identified as the 27th-best professional prospect in the league by Perfect Game. A native of Centerville, VA, McInturff is majoring in Sport Management.
A left-handed freshman pitcher, Hoover will be making his summer collegiate baseball debut this summer for the Sharks. As a senior at Westfield High School, Hoover was named Concorde District Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-District, along with First Team All-Region and honorable mention to the Washington Post All-Met Team. For his career, Hoover went 19-6 with one save and a 1.49 ERA in 154 2/3 innings while striking out 144 and walking 33 in 36 appearances with 25 starts. Hoover also hit .438 as a senior with 16 RBI and 32 hits, including four doubles and four home runs.
Goss, a 5’10” junior is set to play his second season of summer ball and first for the Sharks. Goss began his college career with Jefferson College Vikings in Missouri. In his two seasons with the Vikings, they went 43-20 while winning the Region XVI championship, the South Central district championship and advancing to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I World Series for the first time in nine years. Goss made a team-best 61 starts for Jefferson as a sophomore while hitting .360 with 52 runs, 14 doubles, five triples, 43 RBI and 19 walks. Goss played the 2011 summer with the Harrisonburg Turks in the Valley League, where he hit .286 with three doubles, two triples and 13 stolen bases.
The Wilmington Sharks of the Coastal Plain League (CPL) would like to congratulate ESPN 630 WMFD and Buffalo Wild Wings in their effort to raise over $350 for the Brigade Boys & Girls Club.
