There are hundreds of thousands of people seeking information on food assistance every day on Search. Google searches for food banks and pantries spike between Thanksgiving and New Year. For more than a decade, Google’s search interest for queries related to “food banks” and “food pantries” has spiked by 30-50% every November. In North Carolina, the search interest in “check ebt balance NC” went up 70% in 2021. The topic of Food security is being searched in North Carolina now more than ever.
Googlers have donated more than $20 million in personal donations and company matching funds to food banks and pantries around the world since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The company is also contributing $1M in financial support ($50K to each) to 20 innovative food pantries, food banks, and food assistance organizations. Mooresville-based Feed NC is one of these organizations.
“We are thankful to Google for their generous donation and providing tools to people looking to locate, support, or avail themselves of crucial resources. The COVID-19 pandemic, economic difficulties, and supply chain challenges have exacerbated an already serious food insecurity crisis. We are one organization in the patchwork of agencies dedicated to helping and Google’s support allows us to better reach those in need,” said Feed NC’s Executive Director Lara Ingram.
To help people find food in North Carolina and give back this holiday season, Google announced a number of new features including the following below.