Pay-What-You-Can Mobile Market Reaches 10,000 North Carolinians as Hunger Hits 20-Year High

Brightspeed, Ripe for Revival bring affordable food to 15 rural counties through 88 pop-up markets

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In many rural North Carolina communities, putting fresh food on the table is becoming increasingly difficult. Rising grocery prices continue to strain family budgets, and today, 1 in 7 North Carolinians are food insecure — the highest rate seen in two decades.

Brightspeed, the nation's third-largest fiber builder based in North Carolina, partnered with Ripe for Revival, a Rocky Mount based non-profit organization, in 2025 to close a widening gap in two non-negotiable resources that fuel a thriving community, affordable food and internet access.

Six months ago, Brightspeed and Ripe for Revival set out to meet that need head-on through the nonprofit's pay-what-you-can market. The partners have hosted 88 weekly pop-up markets across 15 Central and Eastern North Carolina counties, meeting families where they are, from church parking lots to community centers. Since November, the efforts have reached nearly 10,000 individuals and distributed more than 23,000 pounds of food at prices roughly 30% lower than traditional grocery stores.

Food insecurity is a rising concern across all of North Carolina's 100 counties. Over the past year alone, Ripe for Revival and Brightspeed have seen a 39% increase in food distributed, underscoring both rising demand and community reach.

By the numbers, in the last six months the mobile market has:

• Distributed 151,623 servings
• Traveled 7,140 miles
• Distributed 19,619 pounds of produce
• Distributed 1,152 pounds of shelf-stable food
• Distributed 2,632 pounds of grocery items

"We are out in small communities every single day, connecting with real people who struggle to afford basic needs. Our mission has a direct impact," says Will Kornegay, Founder and CEO of Ripe for Revival. "We couldn't do it without partners like Brightspeed who care deeply about the communities they serve."

"North Carolinians living outside of urban city centers are often left behind when resources are distributed. Whether it's a lack of affordable, fresh food to keep their families healthy or a reliable internet connection, we wanted to invest in a partnership that makes a real difference," says Sabrina Anderson, local marketing manager at Brightspeed.

The Brightspeed mobile market travels to Beaufort, Bertie, Halifax, Johnston and Warren counties weekly. Local families can find the monthly schedule here.

About Brightspeed

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and with assets and associated operations in 20 states, Brightspeed provides broadband and telecommunications services through a network platform capable of serving more than 7.3 million homes and businesses. Our nearly 4,000 employees are committed to building a future where more communities benefit from a more connected life, deploying a state-of-the-art fiber network and a customer experience that makes being connected as simple as it should be. For more information, please visit www.brightspeed.com.

About Ripe for Revival

In 2018, entrepreneur Will Kornegay started Ripe Revival to help farmers find markets for their imperfect produce. Ripe Revival uses the produce to create value-added products and consumer packaged goods as well as offer delivery of food subscription boxes to consumers' homes from the Triangle to the coast. In 2021, Kornegay started Ripe forRevival, the company's nonprofit arm to operate a fleet of pay-what-you-can mobile markets to address food insecurity in North Carolina. The mobile markets sell local produce, meat and dairy to the public at about 30 sites per week in Beaufort, Bertie, Edgecombe, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Johnston, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pitt, Sampson, Wake and Washington counties. The innovative approach to addressing food insecurity has garnered media attention from Southern Living, Our State, WRAL, WITN, WNCT, Public Radio East and more. For more information, please visit www.ripeforrevival.com.

SOURCE Brightspeed