Daily Bread director reports sharp rise in need and asks Hamlet residents to volunteer

Marie Bennett, director of Daily Bread, updated the Hamlet City Council on a surge in local need and asked for volunteer help and canned-food donations. "We are serving somewhere around 365 families a month and over 1,000 people, individuals a month," she said.

Bennett said Daily Bread will continue its normal operations (Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.–12 p.m.) while making separate arrangements to assist Western North Carolina storm victims so local resources are not diverted. She described current critical needs for canned and dry goods and invited council members and residents to organize drives or volunteer to help with packing and distribution.

Council members asked about hours and whether local resources would be diverted; Bennett said the program has a separate account for the Western North Carolina relief effort and that local services would continue.

What happens next: Bennett will provide an itemized list of critical needs to council members and coordinate volunteer sign-ups.