Last Week North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell presented a $16,000 check in unclaimed property funds to the head of The Food Bank for the central and eastern part of the state at the North Carolina State Fair.
The $16,137.10 check was presented to Peter Werbicki, CEO of The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina at the Unclaimed Property Division (UPD) booth at the fair.
The money was not a donation from the state to The Food Bank but money that was owed to the organization and had fallen into the state’s keeping.
“We were pleased to have the opportunity today to help The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina receive this significant amount of unclaimed property,” Folwell said. “I often say we count the pennies and the paper clips at the Department of State Treasurer. Nobody knows about that better than the Food Bank, as every penny they get helps provide meals for those in need. We’re happy to help reconnect the Food Bank, and all North Carolinians, with their missing pennies through the NC Cash program. I encourage all to visit NCCash.com to see if they, or someone they know, may have money waiting to be claimed free of charge.”
The UPD is tasked with keeping up with unclaimed funds and holding them until the owed party can claim them. The fund is made up of bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds, and contents of safe deposit boxes that typically have been abandoned for one to five years.
Currently the state is holding nearly $660 million in unclaimed property collected from financial institutions, insurance companies, public agencies, and businesses once a certain period of time has passed without contact from the person or organization owed the money.
The funds become “unclaimed” for a number of reasons such as the company loses track of the consumer due to an incorrect address or other missing information.
There is no time limit on when the funds can be claimed and the department is required to process a claim within 90 days and pay out the funds within an additional 30 days.
The presentation brings light to the fact that individuals and businesses in the state may have unclaimed property held by the state that can be recovered through a process beginning with going to nccash.com and searching for the property using the web portal.
The funds that the state returned to The Food Bank can provide an additional 80,000 meals, Werbicki said.
“We’re so grateful to receive this support,” Werbicki said. “This will allow the Food Bank to distribute an additional 80,000 meals to our friends and neighbors living in food insecure households.”
The presentation was made on Food Lion Hunger Relief Day at the fair.
As of Wednesday, 506 claims had been generated so far at UPD’s booth at the State Fair totaling $113,235.50, according to a release from Folwell’s office.
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