Piedmont Natural Gas assists Our Daily Bread with grant

ROCKINGHAM — Our Daily Bread food pantry in downtown Rockingham has received a $5,000 grant from Piedmont Natural Gas.

The money will go toward buying food, which has become more difficult due to COVID-19. Director Clyde Smith said they applied for the grant in December and received the money at the beginning of February.

“We have not been able to give normally the variety of different items we would like to provide,” Smith said.

Our Daily Bread has had trouble getting food due to supply chain problems through local vendors because of the pandemic. The stores themselves had had supply shortages, which limits the amount that they can distribute to food pantries.

Even though they now have some money to address this problem, Smith said it will continue to be a concern. The grant was “unexpected,” he added, but it will be put to good use.

“We have had lots of problems getting items, whether we had money or not to do it. Now, we got the money and we still have problems getting it!” Smith said.

Joel Fox, operations manager at Piedmont’s Rockingham Resource Center, recommended Our Daily Bread receive this grant because of the work they do assisting families in need in Richmond County.

“The residents of Rockingham and Richmond County are our friends, family and neighbors, and we’re proud to play a role in strengthening our community during these difficult times,” said Jason Wheatley, corporate communications consultant at Piedmont Natural Gas, in an email.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created hardships everywhere, and even charitable organizations have been impacted. Reductions in donations and contributions have left many agencies struggling to provide the same level of aid as they once did,” Wheatley said. “It’s our hope that this grant will help Our Daily Bread continue its mission providing assistance to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.