Hundreds of people line up for food assistance in Cumberland County
Hundreds of people gathered Friday morning to request assistance for people in need of food one week after Florence slammed into North Carolina, flooding many areas of the state.
Posted — UpdatedThe recipients began lining up before sunrise outside the Cumberland County Department of Social Service in order to receive food stamps that will allow them to replace food lost during flooding or items that were spoiled when the residents' lost power.
In a written statement, Cumberland County Department of Social Services said Saturday that nearly 5,831 affidavits, or applications for help, have been approved by the agency. Nearly 3,300 of the requests were approved on Friday alone. Officials had said earlier that about 2,500 people received assistance on Thursday from the county.
One woman who was about the 20th person in line Friday morning said she was also affected by Hurricane Matthew, when it roared through North Carolina two years ago and also left a trail of destruction.
"It kinda hurts that we have to go through this over again, considering we had Matthew about two years ago and now we're experiencing the same thing over again," said Rosnah Pegues. "It's kinda sad."
County officials said as of 6:30 p.m. Friday, 189 people remained in three shelters operating at College Lakes, Kiwanis and Smith Recreation Centers.
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