By William Holloman
Staff Writer
The widely-known Make A Difference Food Pantry of Grantham is relocating to Mount Olive.
Its founder and operator, 14-year-old Mackenzie Hinson, said she plans to open her new pantry operation here on November 7. She said she and her mother “are excited about the move.”
Her food pantry operation is known across the state and nation, and the impact of its reach is not new here. A tremendous amount of food from the pantry flowed into Mount Olive a year ago during the recovery process from Hurricane Matthew. Ms. Hinson’s food pantry then provided a majority of the food that was needed and used during the recovery shelter operation that was set up at Carver Elementary School. She was rewarded later with a contribution from the town.
The pantry has been operation from a location in a strip mall in Grantham, and is relocating due to lease issue. A lease agreement has already been agreed upon to operate in two current vacant neighboring buildings on North Center Street, beside the current NC Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) license plate office.
Work started last weekend to set up the new operation. Ms. Hinson said she will announce pantry hours of operation when she opens the doors here on Tuesday of next week.
Town Manager Charles Brown expressed excitement about the announcement of the relocation. He said he wants to personally welcome the new pantry location to Mount Olive.
“We were approached one day last week by Ms. Hinson and her mother, who were looking for a space to relocate,” he said. It was “a head scratching and phone call situation.”
Brown said the Hinsons met with the owner of the Center Street property and came up with a lease agreement.
“We are delighted to have them. They have always been a huge help to us, because a lot of the food that came to the shelter we had here in the Hurricane Matthew recovery came from their food pantry. They were a big help to us and we’re excited that we can return the favor in their time of need,” said the town manager.
