Imagine picking up the phone on Friday afternoon and on the other end is someone who needs help—desperate help—and you cannot give it to them until Monday. That’s what happened to me last Friday. I answered the phone at United Way of the Greater Triangle and the woman on the other end told me that she needed food for her and her husband. She said she’d never had to go to a food bank before and wasn’t sure what to do. I told her about 2-1-1, our 24-hour helpline, and told her that the specialists there would be able to help her find the closest agency that would be able to help her. A little while later, she called me back and told me that the food bank was closed until Monday. Continue reading →