Food For Thought
Beach Food Pantry’s Expanding Footprint
By Steve Hanf / Photography by David Uhrin
Elisabeth Silverthorne laughs easily and often as she works, exuding waves of positive energy that could fill the Beach Food Pantry—if only there were room for one more thing.
But on this particular late spring day, 20 giant boxes of Bombas socks wait on the back loading dock for volunteers to shoehorn into the building. Flats of canned chicken fill every available nook and cranny in the storeroom because, well, who doesn’t love a good bulk deal—even if that means ordering a pallet of it?
The tiny building on the bypass in Kitty Hawk tucked between Mattress Firm and a Vacasa operations site has served the community well since Beach moved there in 2016. An immediate addition to the old Max’s Bagels shop provided much-needed space, but growing need has led to growing pains for this local institution, and a new expansion project is underway.
“Over the years, this building got us through some way or another, and you wouldn’t believe the crazy tight quarters that we worked under, but we just can’t do it anymore,” says Silverthorne, Beach’s executive director. “This is all about being ready for what our community needs next.”
The need is eye-opening, staggering, ever-growing. In 2021, Beach Food Pantry provided in-store shopping services to 923 families and 1,612 individuals. In 2023, Beach served 2,124 families and 4,290 individuals. Last year, the numbers soared to nearly 2,900 families and 5,700 individuals.
Similarly, the Summer Food for Kids program numbers have more than tripled in three years, from serving 446 families and 1,791 individuals in 2022 to 1,571 families and 6,183 individuals last year.
Serving more clients puts the pressure on Silverthorne to secure more product, which leads to the need for more space. And now more than ever, Beach Food Pantry is buying more and more of the items needed to serve the community. While there’s been plenty of recent chatter out of Washington about cuts to federal programs, the stark reality is this:
In 2024, Beach Food Pantry spent $306,000 on food and other items for those it serves, a whopping 44% of the total items distributed. Donations from local stores provided a combined 41%, while individual donations and food drives added about 12%.
Only 2.5% of BFP’s supplies came from the Food Bank of the Albemarle last year. That’s a factoid that surprises many, yet is a fact of life for Silverthorne and her organization.
“Historically, the role of a food bank has been to source and warehouse food, and the role of a food pantry is to provide direct service to the clients,” she explains. “We had to purchase 44% of what we distributed last year, which means that we are taking on almost half of what has traditionally not been our role. That means we need extra storage space, and that’s what this addition is going to be—storage and prep space.”
Because Beach Food Pantry needs money for food, and because BFP needs money for space, Silverthorne finds herself doing a bit of a dance to make sure folks understand the unique position the organization finds itself in.
In this case, it’s a rather fantastic position. The building expansion project is being funded by several grants that she’s been working to secure since 2022. None of the grants can be used to buy food and other supplies: They’re only for capacity-building purposes.
It started with the Golden LEAF Foundation, an organization geared toward assisting North Carolina’s rural communities. Using leftover funds from the Covid-era American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Golden LEAF provided a whopping $250,000 award to Beach Food Pantry.
“This is the largest grant in our organization’s history and we were one of only four organizations in the entire state to be awarded the max grant award, so we’re very, very proud of that,” Silverthorne says. “We’re supposed to get three things with those funds: a refrigerated truck, which we’ve already gotten; a building addition; and a new walk-in refrigerator, which we’ve never had before.”
The bonus of having a refrigerated truck is obvious when it comes to securing and transporting donations. The walk-in fridge, meanwhile, means BFP can collect and store more fresh, perishable foods—like produce and dairy—that are in high demand and offer healthier options for clients.
The food pantry currently has a walk-in freezer, but refrigerated items have been limited to a collection of smaller cases.
As amazing as the Golden LEAF award was, anyone who’s bought anything lately can empathize with Silverthorne’s plight once she started digging into the numbers. Stuff is expensive, and it isn’t getting any cheaper.
She started working with a contractor to get estimates on what the building addition would cost. The initial budget of $330,000 saw some bids come back as high as $600,000, and Silverthorne feared that BFP might lose the entire project.
Then, The Cannon Foundation out of Concord, NC, came through with a huge building grant in the amount of $110,000, and the Outer Banks Community Foundation added $12,500. Add in restricted funds Beach Food Pantry had already set aside for building needs when applying for the Golden LEAF grant, and suddenly the project had a green light.
It was a stressful time making it happen, but Silverthorne appreciates the journey.
VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE: Beach Food Pantry provides everything from perishables to frozen meats to shelf staples. While many assume that BFP’s offerings are donated or provided by area food banks, last year the organization spent more than $300,000 purchasing some 44 percent of the goods it distributed.
“One thing that stood out is that what we’re doing here is special enough where organizations outside our area—like, their people will never be served by us—they think that what we’re doing here is special enough that they’re willing to invest in it,” Silverthorne says of The Cannon Foundation, adding that the group also helped with funding for the first expansion in 2016. “Another thing is that we are not having to ask people here that would normally help us with food for money for a building because of these grants. We’re not cannibalizing food donors for the building.”
Still, having worked for non-profits for a long time, Silverthorne can’t help but recognize the optics … and want to clear up any misconceptions.
“The main thing that we’re trying to really get people to understand is, we desperately need money for food. We’re cutting programs. We’re having all sorts of other issues with that. But at the same time, we’re going to be doing a building project, and it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, these two things are not compatible,’ ” she says.
The construction project is being led by Jason James of Albemarle Contracting Services. Silverthorne praised him as a “community-minded contractor” who has gone out of his way to make sure Beach Food Pantry gets what it needs for the money it has to spend. Work on the 1,410-square foot addition began earlier this summer and Silverthorne hopes for a completion date as soon as December.
It’s a momentous time for Silverthorne, in her seventh year as the executive director, and her three part-time employees who make this massive operation the driving force it is for the greater OBX community.
“I think people don’t realize that food assistance is still such a big need. Approximately 80% of the people that come to us work, and less than 30% qualify for federal aid,” she says. “What that means is, where you think about food stamps being a safety net—we really are these people’s safety net.”
Want to help but aren’t sure how? Here are easy ways you can support the mission of the Beach Food Pantry:
Money: It may sound obvious, but community donations allow Beach Food Pantry to have the funds on hand to bring in product: “It lets us get what we need as we can absorb it,” Executive Director Elisabeth Silverthorne says.
Paper Bags: Don’t recycle your collection of paper grocery bags. Drop them off! “We go through about 240 a day, and they’re $100 for 500 of them,” Silverthorne says. “We’d rather spend money on food than paper, so that’s a big help.”
Food Drives and Volunteering: Various community groups sponsor food drives for everything from birthday celebrations to school contests, and every donation helps BFP spend money on other items instead. And while the food pantry has an army of loyal volunteers, it’s rare that Silverthorne finds herself saying “no” to eager helpers.
Social Media: A mere like, follow and share on your social media accounts can help spread the word about Beach Food Pantry’s work and other special events. Find the group on Facebook, Instagram and NextDoor.
Author: Steve Hanf
Steve Hanf is a former professional sportswriter who teaches the journalism classes at First Flight High School. The dormant Nike Running Club app on his phone offers a reminder of the seven half-marathons and one full marathon he completed … several years ago.
