Newton, NC - Newton is pleased to announce the delivery of a new cargo van to The Corner Table. Purchase of the van was made possible with funding awarded to the City of Newton by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division (REDD) Community Development Block Grant Program.

The van was purchased for The Corner Table to support their mission to provide meals with compassion, respect, and dignity to those in our community affected by hunger. The van will be used primarily to pick up food donations from grocery stores and food distributors.

In 2022, The Corner Table served 71,884 meals from The Community Kitchen in Downtown Newton and provided 188,473 meals to children in schools across Catawba County. During its two decades of service to the community, The Corner Table has served nearly 920,000 meals.

“This van will extend the reach of a small staff and dedicated team of volunteers who are working together to nourish this community,” said Summer Jenkins, Executive Director of The Corner Table. “We thank the City of Newton for their ongoing support and for their administration of the funds that supported the purchase of the van.”

The City of Newton was awarded $900,000 in funding through the Community Development Block Grant program. Eastern Catawba Cooperative Christian Ministry and In My Father’s House Community Support Services Network also received support through the grant award, and a portion of the funds will support installation of Wi-Fi in City facilities.

Grant funds were awarded to North Carolina by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support the state’s COVID-19 response efforts. The allocation was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Public Law 116-136. The North Carolina COVID Program is designed to help a non-entitlement municipality or county to prepare, prevent, or respond to the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. The activities must be most critical to their locality and primarily for their low- and moderate-income residents.

“The Corner Table has been feeding the hungry for many, many years. We thank them for their service to Newton and Catawba County,” Newton Mayor Eddie Haupt said. “We’re grateful to HUD and the State Department of Commerce for awarding Newton the funds to buy this beautiful van.”

The City of Newton thanks the North Carolina Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the grant award. The City also thanks Sherry Long, Assistant Executive Director of Western Piedmont Council of Governments, and WPCOG staff for their continued assistance with administration of Newton’s Community Development Block Grant.