Food Bank Director Candice Parker
By Meg Hale Brunton
Director of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Candice Parker says she was blessed to come from a very loving family and had never been exposed to violence in her early life. In December of 2016, her body was left unconscious next to a river. “I needed to leave a terrible situation with my son’s father. I left everything behind,” she recalls. In a different state than all her friends and family, Candice had to depend on the kindness of strangers and went to the local women’s shelter to get help. She remembers that period as being understandably difficult, but also memorable and impacting. “You have no compass, but you just know internally that you have to get it done. It is very possible to pivot, adapt, and rise up.”
The shelter also happened to be hiring for a Fund Development role. “I said, ‘I’m a domestic violence victim, how does that make sense?’,” recalls Candice, when the Executive Director told her she should apply for the position. “And they said, ‘You’re the perfect person for this because you can tell a story.’” The board of directors unanimously agreed to bring her on.
“I knew I had found my calling, and that was to sincerely help others,” says Candice. “For me, this is something I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. It is the most rewarding experience I can have to help other people.” From there, she climbed the ladder starting at the Coastal Women’s Shelter, the tri-county domestic violence agency, followed by Promise Place, the tri-county sexual assault resource center. Then she became Director of Development at Religious Community Services, the tri-county homeless shelter.
Now 38, Candice is Branch Director of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC. Since June 2022, they have distributed over 2 million pounds of food to Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, Onslow and Jones counties through their retail donation program, as well as 7.5 million pounds from their 30,000 square foot branch through the 65 local nonprofits they partner with. Through her work, Candice feels she has reached her life’s purpose. “It’s my job to create a wake with discussions surrounding hunger, its impact, and what we can do,” she says. “I have sincerely listened to the people that I have served and I got to use my developmental brain to find solutions.”
To make a donation to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern Carolina, go to their website: https://foodbankcenc.org/about-us/locations-contact-info/new-bern/