The Measure of a Community: Holly Springs Food Cupboard
It’s an unassuming ranch-style building on Holly Springs Road, the kind you might drive past without noticing. Inside, though, the place is alive with purpose. When I arrived at the Holly Springs Food Cupboard, I expected to find a few volunteers sorting shelves. Instead, every hallway was busy with people moving crates, weighing donations, and getting ready for something big.
Down one of those hallways, I met Sara Haggar, the executive director. She smiled and said, “You picked a good day.” A major community food drive was about to arrive, and the whole building was preparing for it.
Within minutes, the parking lot filled with cars. Trunks opened to reveal rows of blue Food Lion bags packed with canned goods and dry food. Volunteers worked in rhythm, unloading, weighing, and moving items inside.
At first it looks like chaos, but it isn’t. Each volunteer knows exactly where to stand and what to do. Bags move from car to scale in one smooth motion. By the time the next car pulls in, the last load is already being shelved.
Watching it happen, you understand why this place matters. Generosity here isn’t a one-time event. It’s a habit the whole town shares.
The Local Heart in a National Network
To really understand what goes into this effort, it is helpful to clarify what a "food cupboard" means in the larger fight against hunger:
Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States, supporting a nationwide network of over 200 food banks.
The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (FBCENC) serves as our region’s main supplier.
Holly Springs Food Cupboard (HSFC), is the local distribution center that provides groceries directly to families in need. The HSFC operates on the front line, ensuring the community's donations immediately reach their neighbors. The entire operation is run by a 100% volunteer staff who coordinate everything from outreach to sorting to distribution.
Local support of the HSFC comes in many forms. From food drives coordinated by neighborhoods, schools, churches, local businesses and civic groups, to marquee fundraising events such as Grape, Grains and Giving hosted by the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce. These events provide the resources needed to ensure that the HSFC can continue to provide essential services to our community.
Neighborhoods wishing to coordinate recurring food drives can now partner with the HSFC through the PORCH program. PORCH organizes reliable, monthly neighborhood food drives where residents leave food donations on their porches, and volunteers collect the donations and deliver them directly to the HSFC.
Growing Goodness
Step behind the main building and you’ll find the Cupboard’s garden. Rows of winter crops—turnips, peppers, greens—fill the beds. Even on a chilly day, volunteers are out there trimming, planting, and harvesting.
The garden is more than symbolic. In 2024 it produced 2,192 pounds of fresh food. Every tomato and pepper is counted and distributed along with canned goods. “We get a couple thousand pounds a year out of that,” one volunteer said, grinning with well-earned pride.
Winter crops such as turnips and peppers filled the well-tended garden while the volunteers used a break in the weather to work quickly.
Throughout 2025, more than 500 people will volunteer at the Food Cupboard either was trained volunteers running day-to-day operations or as garden volunteers who may only visit once but whose efforts make an impact.
In addition to the broader community, there are leaders who form the foundation of the Food Cupboard operations. On the day I was able to visit I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet several of those folks whose dedication to our community is unmatched.
Feeding the Future
One of the Cupboard’s most thoughtful programs is the Student Bag initiative. Volunteers assemble kid-friendly meals—simple breakfasts and lunches that can be prepared without an adult’s help.
A Constant Need met With Constant Care
By late afternoon, the weigh station had recorded several thousand pounds of food. It’s a number worth celebrating, but everyone here knows the need continues week after week.
In 2024, volunteers gave more than 18,800 hours of their time. That kind of commitment doesn’t just happen—it’s built on care, trust, and a shared sense of responsibility.
The most direct ways to support this vital work are available through the Cupboard:
Monetary Donations: Financial gifts allow the HSFC flexibility to purchase specific needed items and cover operating costs.
Volunteer Your Time: Your time is valuable. From gardening to sorting to distribution, you can join the 100% volunteer team.
Organize a Drive: Community groups and neighborhoods can organize local drives to help sustain the cupboards throughout the year.
