HIGH POINT- The Greensboro/High Point Metropolitan area continues to battle food insecurity.

The recent data from the Food Research and Action Center puts the area at number one in the nation for food hardship.

It's been about a year since High Point's first Food Summit. And since then, members of The Greater High Point Food Alliance, United Way of Greater High Point and other organizations say a lot has been accomplished.

"Within the last year, we’ve worked with Second Harvest Food Bank to start a Food Drop, and we’ve served 13,000 people a quarter of a million dollars of food," said Carl Vierling, Greater High Point Food Alliance. "Yesterday, they had 180 households come to get food.”

Bobby Smith, United Way of Greater High Point president, said, “Our contributions have been way up this year. People have realized we do have an issue, but it’s one we can solve. We have some neighbors left behind by the recovering economy and need assistance.”

Along with all that, new food pantries have sprouted up in areas struggling the most with hunger, like Burns Hill Neighborhood Association Food Pantry, an idea that formed from last year's Food Summit. The goal was to have it up and running in a year. Vierling says they were able to open in in five months.

“I thought it would be greedy people, that they'd just come in to get food. But [I] found out they actually need the food and want to give back to the pantry by volunteering," said Jerry Mingo, Burns Hill Neighborhood Association.

But the work is far from over. Organizations are working to educate the community about food, from nutrition to cooking classes in the city's seven food deserts.

"The goal is to empower people, unify them and see them become self-sustaining, to move away from the charity model to a development model where they’re taking care of themselves," said Vierling. "You do that by teaching and giving them the tools they need.”

Another Food Summit is planned and a transformation will soon take place on dozens of vacant lots throughout High Point.

"The City of High Point passed an Adopt a Lot policy, where non-profits can adopt vacant lots if they maintain insurance on it," said Vierling. "We’ll have 34 new community gardens popping up around the city.”

The Second Annual Food Summit is March 18 and 19.