Tyrrell County awarded Cannon Foundation Grant for food bank construction

Published 5:56 am Tuesday, September 1, 2020

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The Tyrrell County Food Bank project received a boost when Tyrrell County received a $100,000 grant from The Cannon Foundation. The grant will be paired with an $180,000 Community Development Block Grant to construct a food bank facility for the county.

It is estimated that 22% of Tyrrell’s population is food insecure, according to a press release from the county.

The facility will be located on the site of the recently demolished Flair Building next door to Tyrrell Hall on US Highway 64 East. The Cannon Foundation grant award will allow Tyrrell County to place for bid a 1660 square foot facility.

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The food bank will be an affiliate of the distribution system of the Food Bank of the Albemarle. Architects for the facility are Cahoon and Kasten of Nags Head.

It is the intention of the Tyrrell County Board of Commissioners to create a non-profit corporation to operate the food bank with management assistance from the county commissioners, Tyrrell County Department of Social Services, Tyrrell Senior Adult Center and community-based religious and civic organizations. The building and equipment will remain property of Tyrrell County.

“This new facility will be a great tribute to the faithful volunteers of the Church Road Emergency Food Pantry,” said Tommy Everett, chairman of the Board of Commissioners.

County manager David Clegg commented, “This food bank building will allow us to take full advantage of opportunities to assist our food insecure citizens and leverage many government and private resources.”

The Cannon Foundation was formed in 1943  by Charles A. Cannon, chairman and president of the Cannon Mills Company. The foundation, located in Concord, continues his philanthropic legacy by funding primarily capital and infrastructure projects for organizations across the state of North Carolina. To date, the foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $305 million.

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