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May 2023 Collection Weight Was 1,447 Pounds / 0.72 Tons

Thanks so much for helping with our May 2023 collection. 

November 2022 collection weight was the highest since 2011.

Residents also donated $2,091 by check or via the secure online link included just below on this page.

Our ongoing 10-year impact report documenting the cumulative total of monthly weights and measures and the value of annual collections is located in a table on the Collection Amounts page.

Thank you for your continued level of extraordinary generosity.

Fearrington residents can also safely make a cash donation online by using this button. 100% of your donation goes directly to CORA.

We could not do this monthly collection without our volunteer drivers who cover several neighborhoods. After many years of faithful volunteering for PORCH by driving to pick up food donations from several large neighborhoods, Jess Fearrington has moved and is no longer doing food donation collections. We all thank Jess for all his terrific volunteer service!

To donate funds to CORA securely online, use this button.

The curated food list which includes the April 2023 most needed items that match CORA's Inventory for providing families with the food they most want is posted below on this page.

Photos Above Are Views of CORA's New Building

See the article on the June 05, 2021 community celebration and award presentation from CORA. 

Next Community Pick-Up & Delivery Date to CORA is 

Monday, June 26, 2023

New Food Donors Can Sign Up Online.

We're continuing the usual neighborhood collection patterns again for June 2023. Neighborhood Coordinators will distribute more specific information for food donations. See the current PORCH Fearrington food donation guidelines page.


More than 50% of the food CORA distributes to hungry families is donated! This source of food is VERY IMPORTANT to us! To make sure your donation of food does the most good, keep the following guidelines in mind.

Please DO NOT USE GLASS CONTAINERS. They Easily Break and Result in Spills!

Today, as household expenses continue to climb, families are experiencing food insecurity in alarming numbers, and the lines at CORA grow longer. CORA appreciates all your food and cash donations to help them feed so many people. We learned recently that CORA has been able to significantly reduce the amount they spend on food thanks to the food donations provided by PORCH donors.

We had a very successful December community food donation collection.  The list of CORA's MOST NEEDED food donation items for the June 2023 collection are listed below:

Cora's Most Needed Items for June 2023

We and CORA appreciate all that you do! If you have any questions, please let us know.

PORCH is instrumental in CORA's fight against hunger. CORA has continued to be very busy providing free food to a growing number of individuals and families in Chatham County, NC, and still needs your help. CORA deeply appreciates all the hard work Fearrington residents and PORCH Fearrington all pour into meeting the significant food needs of families each month.

Also Check Out the Items CORA Always Needs


Evangeline Christie, CORA's Pantry Manager, developed with a list of items that you can add to the "Most Needed" list throughout the year. Evangeline is confident that these products will move quickly all year long.


Just a few reminders:

While plastic bags are OK for the donations, it is a lot easier for our collecting and transferring the food when we arrive at CORA if you use PAPER bags (which are a renewable resource), rather than plastic bags (which are not recyclable). The contents often fall out of plastic bags, making the handling of large volumes of food more difficult. If plastic bags are easier for you, feel free to use them for your donations. CORA likes to have a supply of plastic bags on hand for people who come for the donated food, so please do donate those empty plastic bags you do not need.

If you would also like to make a cash donation to CORA, you can safely and conveniently do so by using this secure link:  Your donation will go directly to CORA and you will receive an immediate receipt in reply (or you can request that one be sent to you in the mail if you prefer).

If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to CORA and send it to:

CORA

PO Box 1326

Pittsboro, NC 27312

(If you note “Fearrington PORCH” in the memo space on your check, they will know it came from us.) 

Since PORCH Fearrington began in 2011, residents have donated $155,676 to CORA.

Thank you so much for your help in spreading the word about CORA's need.

Many of our neighbors are traveling, so it's especially important for those who are here to help out this month and maybe give a little more than usual.


Some of you have asked whether CORA prefers donations of food or cash.  The answer is that they need both.  CORA certainly does appreciate and need cash donations.  However, they also need donations of food.  The food they are able to purchase from food banks and grocery stores is very limited.  For example, they may only be able to get one variety of soup.  Their clients really appreciate the opportunity to choose from among several varieties, as their families, like ours, have preferences.  Many of the items on CORA's monthly request lists are not available elsewhere.


So, for some of you, especially those who are unable to shop regularly, cash donations are fine.  But those who are able to get to the grocery store and purchase a little more than what is needed in their household are addressing a really important need in our community.


In October 2019, we surpassed the 200,000 pounds (100 tons) milestone since our inception in 2011!

Since the PORCH model began in Chapel Hill 13 years ago, PORCH communities have collected the equivalent of $4.3 million. PORCH Communities are really making a difference!

In April 2016, we exceeded the first 100,000-pound milestone since beginning the program! 

See the complete weights and measures tables for collections between 2011 and this current month of 2023. 

See the Posted 2023 Collection Dates.

May 2022 was the 11th Anniversary of the Founding of PORCH Fearrington. 

Since May 2011, we have collected and delivered 301,726 pounds (150.9 tons) and remain CORA's largest single contributor of residentially donated food. 

PORCH (People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill Carrboro Homes) is a concept started by three women in Chapel Hill, NC in 2009 as a way to facilitate contributions to local food banks. The concept is a simple one; participants leave food on their porches once a month, and neighborhood coordinators pick it up. Organizers collect the food from the neighborhood coordinators and deliver it to a local food bank. The organization has been growing and was featured in a November 2010 issue of Redbook magazine. Chapters now exist throughout the Triangle and as far away as California. You can check out their website at https://porchcommunities.org/.

A short video on the history of the national PORCH program, which began in Orange County, North Carolina:

We owe a big thank you to our May 2023 collectors and the drivers/loaders who each collected portions of the food contributions to CORA: Jon Darling, Beth & Ray Essington, Anne & Mike Grimmer, Bob Krier, and Travis Viera and Reggie Blue on the CORA truck were really terrific.

Note our CORA Donation Guidelines page.

PORCH-Fearrington was organized by the Fearrington Havurah, a Jewish sponsored social, cultural and educational organization open to all residents of the Fearrington Community and Galloway Ridge.