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Charles “Chuck” H. James III, who chaired one of the nation’s oldest Black-owned businesses, has died at 62.
Mr. James, who lived in the Chicago area for extended periods, died last month at his Atlanta home as a result of heart problems, according to his sister Sarah Irby.
The fourth generation in his family to run C.H. James & Co., a Charleston, West Virginia, company founded by his great-grandfather in the 1880s, Mr. James oversaw a business that supplied produce to many restaurants, schools, grocery stores and hospitals in the Mountain State. He was credited with diversifying the company’s holdings.
This past Thanksgiving, food pantry manager Kizzy Wright saw a sight she s never witnessed. Our line was out the door. We ve never experienced that demand ever, said Wright, who continues to see a surge in families turning to Bread of Life Community Pantry in Bristol for food.
The coronavirus has been the perfect storm for Bucks County neighbors trying to make ends meet. Facing job losses and unpaid bills, families who are feeling the economic fallout don t have the money to pay for groceries. Spikes in homelessness have also created more demand at Bucks County food pantries. This pandemic has spared no ZIP code, almost no household, said Cathy Snyder, founder and executive director of Rolling Harvest Food Rescue. She said food pantries in the region are experiencing a 40% hike in the number of families turning to them for help, and many of them up until very recently were living very comfortable middle-class lives.