With many community members facing food insecurity, Tre Tapp wanted to do something to give back to the community around him.
So on the coldest Monday of the fall thus far, when temperatures hovered around 40 degrees, he and the rest of his team at The Chicken Hut offered a free boxed lunch to anyone impacted by recent SNAP benefit losses.
Tapp and his team gave away 400 pre-packaged meals at the Fayetteville Street location from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Recipients had to show their SNAP card to receive the lunch.
“People have been thanking us so much,” Tapp said. “I had one guy saying that he didn't know how he was going to eat. Being that the people going through this situation, they don't know how they're going to put food on the table.”
The Chicken Hut was recognized for its role in the Civil Rights Movement last month. The Durham City Council voted unanimously to mark the oldest Black-owned restaurant in the city a local historic landmark. It marked the end of a process that lasted for about five years.
The restaurant was started in 1957, when it was then known as The Chicken Box. It began on what is now known as South Roxboro Street. The block has since been demolished by the city in the late 1960s. When it moved to Fayetteville Street, it became The Chicken Hut.
Tapp was inspired to do this after talking to people and seeing a rise in food costs.
“We believe in the community, Chicken Hut loves the community,” Tapp said. “I always say, without the community, there would be no Chicken Hut. So, when we see our community suffering, we've been blessed, our community always supports us. So it's only normal to give back what we can.
The government shutdown has put a hold on child care and food benefits for millions of low income people across America. North Carolina is no exception. The Trump Administration has said it will send partial SNAP payments to those who need it this month. That will offer some relief to the 1.4 million people here in North Carolina. That move follows two federal court rulings that found the government did not act lawfully when it didn’t release emergency SNAP funds.
Last Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services was notified that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will deliver benefits to EBT cards soon.
