FAYETTEVILLE – Action Pathways, Inc. CEO Lonnie Ballard, Jr. has been awarded the N.C. Community Action Association’s Roselle Copeland Stewardship Award.
The Roselle Copeland Stewardship Award is presented annually to an individual member of the N.C. Community Action Association (NCCAA). The award focuses on exemplary individual contributions to the NCCAA, to the local community or agency and/or the low-income community at large. Ballard was honored for his work to address hunger through Action Pathways Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) of Southeast North Carolina.
“NCCAA is proud to recognize Action Pathways’ CEO Lonnie Ballard. Jr. for his exemplary contributions and the significant impact that he has made in representation of the spirit of the Roselle Copeland Stewardship Award,” said Sharon C. Goodson, Executive Director of the NCCAA. “Lonnie’s care for people extends well beyond Action Pathways. He has provided expert guidance and support throughout the community action network and has advocated tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of many North Carolina families.”
Over the past year, Action Pathways, the parent organization of SHFB, under Ballard’s leadership, has exemplified the NCCAA’s mission by providing much-needed services to the most vulnerable populations in its seven-county service area — Bladen, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett, Hoke, Robeson and Sampson counties.
Through partnerships with more than 200 agencies, SHFB provided 14,644,145 pounds of food, with the majority of that number— 12,351,654— delivered through mass distribution events and local food pantries between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
“I’ll never forget that fateful day in March 2020,” Ballard said. “Everything changed. No one could have known the level of pain and suffering COVID-19 would bring. The food supply chain was severely disrupted as airplanes were grounded, ports were restricted and borders were closed. About a million North Carolinians were experiencing unemployment. Food banks were experiencing unprecedented need as food lines grew across the nation.”
SHFB had about a 45-percent increase in first-time food bank users, and held 100 mass food distribution events in 2020, compared to about a dozen in an average year.
During the pandemic, SHFB served 352,000 meals to seniors throughout its seven-county coverage area, and also worked with 57 local schools to provide backpacks packed with nutritious meals to more than 2,000 students.
SHFB continues to tackle food insecurity throughout the region, and is partnering with the Action Pathways ASPIRE program to provide after-school meals through backpack programs in Cumberland and Sampson counties through the end of this school year and continuing into summer. The food bank also partnered with Action Pathways Head Start to provide meals to more than 300 families served by Head Start during the 2020-21 school year.
In addition, Action Pathways SHFB has partnered with the N.C. Community Action Association on the Cape Fear Food Insecurity Think Tank to address hunger throughout Cumberland and Sampson counties, aligning with other nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, school systems and other public services.
“I’d like to thank North Carolina Community Action Association for this prestigious award,” Ballard said, adding, “Moving forward, Action Pathways Second Harvest Food Bank is committed to long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to serve our most vulnerable citizens.”
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