Food Pantry Shuttle Service

About the Program

Category: Transportation (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

On January 24, 2013, Rutherford County Transit began a new program to provide free transportation to a local food pantry. The Storehouse Pantry had begun distributing food to citizens and Transit recognized that they could bring people to the pantry, allowing resources and agencies to be interconnected. The driving purpose behind this project was to help people connect to food resources when transportation is a barrier. Rutherford County Transit went outside the scope of traditional public transportation services, by listening to their passengers, and creating a service that meets their passengers’ basic needs outside of mere transportation. Many of the individuals who utilize Rutherford County Transit are low income, elderly or disabled. Shuttle service is provided every Thursday to Rutherford County citizens for free and is funded through the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rural Operating Assistance Program and the Transit department within Rutherford County’s local government. Currently, Transit provides service to approximately eighty families per month to the local food pantry. The outpouring of support from the community has been evident through media coverage. Citizens have commented that this service shows a tangible and visible way to use tax dollars to the benefit of all residents of Rutherford County.