Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Jordan McKaley Boney, RN

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

NUR 3316: Population and Global Health

Dr. Sangha, DNP, MSN. ed, MBA, RN

September 7, 2021

“I pledge that I uphold the Honor Code System and policies of Bon Secours Memorial College
of Nursing”
Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

September is Hunger Action Month. Did you know that? I didn’t know that September is

hunger action month until I began researching for this project. I live in an area of North Carolina

where there are many homeless individuals and families struggling to put food on the table. I

knew I wanted to do something for them, and then the ad for hunger action month popped up on

my telephone. After a hellacious year of COVID, the fight against hunger is far from over. There

are many people facing unemployment, and the need for food has intensified as families struggle

with paying bills and other necessities.

I have high hopes for this service-learning activity. I hope to provide individuals and their

families a sense of encouragement and relief. I want to support my neighbors in this devastating

pandemic as we face yet another wave. I hope to be humbled by this service project and gain a

better perspective of those in need.

I know that there will be working families coming to the food bank. However, I do expect

to see more homeless and non-working families at the food bank. I don’t have any other

preconceived myths or biases.

In order to address the need for food, I have conducted research related to hunger in

North Carolina. Feeding America (2021) is a great source, and they state that there are 1,417,440

people in NC facing hunger. Of the 1,417,440 people facing hunger, 419,470 are children. This

means that 1 in 7 North Carolina residents face hunger and 1 in 5 NC children face hunger.

Through the Feeding America website, I was able to connect with a local food bank that will

allow me to volunteer my services to help end hunger in North Carolina.

I believe that Servant leadership is selfless and that servant leaders are called to serve

others while portraying empathy, humility, compassion, caring, self-awareness, open-

Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

mindedness, honesty, patience, etc. Professionalism is the ability to conduct yourself in a manner

that is respectful, ethical, and competent. Ethical components are expected of a professional and

should be displayed when representing ourselves, our profession, and our school. As a student of

Bon Secours, I can best represent them through this servant learning activity by displaying Bon

Secours values including human dignity, integrity, compassion, stewardship, service, and

catholic identity.

Barriers to optimal health outcomes for this population can be endless. We already know

that this population struggles to put food on the table, making them more susceptible to making

poor nutritional choices. This puts them at risk for malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, high

cholesterol, heart disease, etc. This population probably struggles with insurance, making it

harder to afford healthcare. They might also struggle transportation and even lack of will to seek

healthcare opportunities, despite free clinics and other community sources available.

I expect to learn a lot from this project. I am privileged to have the life that I have thus

far, however some have not been so privileged. I expect to learn the burdens of this vulnerable

population and work closely to find and end for hunger. I absolutely believe that someday they

can be our teachers. Everyone needs help every once in a while. We must roll up our sleeves and

help our people, because you never know what your situation will be in 10 years. I think about

the people recently affected by Hurricane Ida, and how quickly something like that could happen

to me or my loved ones. We must love and care for one another, because that is our only hope to

fighting and ending this battle.

Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC

References

Feeding America. (2021). Hunger in North Carolina. https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-

in-america/north-carolina