Working together, while staying apart.

04/03/2020

These last few weeks have truly brought out the best in our organization! Our staff is united and working together, now more than ever, to collect, prepare and distribute food to Central Virginians in need.

As we press forward through this public health crisis, we continue to evolve as the circumstances warrant. We are committed to our current distribution methods which allow us to focus on the mission, while keeping safety our top priority.

Here are some highlights we’re proud to share:

  • Our Agency Network infrastructure remains strong and 85 percent of our agencies are open to serve those in need. These food pantries, churches and other nonprofits are on the frontlines of fighting hunger and are hard at work to meet the need with no-contact food distributions to keep the clients they serve safe.
  • We’re continuing to distribute our weekend BackPacks and our School Market program is holding monthly distributions at schools across our region for students and their families.
  • The Bayard Community Kitchen is operating at full capacity and preparing around 2,400 meals each weekday for the senior and homebound neighbors in our Meals on Wheels program. This is no small feat and our talented team and dedicated volunteers have stepped up to help meet the need in a big way!
  • We have split our Community Kitchen staff into two separate buildings to adhere to physical distancing and help ensure continuity of our operations. We are also following strict physical distancing protocols with our volunteers and have been impressed our team’s flexibility and agility to get the job done!
  • Food donations are still coming in from old and new sources, and our produce and protein are quite plentiful right now with many companies donating their perishable product. As the supply chain works to recover, we have an adequate food supply that will allow us to meet the growing need.

Thank you for for your support and standing by us as we help our neighbors in their times of need. Working together as a community to lift each other up is what will help us all get through these uncertain times.