Feeding Southwest Virginia

April 1st kicks off VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTH! 🎉🤩 Of course, we appreciate our volunteers every day of the week. No April Fool's Joke here - our mission truly depends on the kind and caring support of volunteers! ✅ ⭐Learn more about what one of our featured volunteers, Corrine, has to say: "I've volunteered with Feeding Southwest Virginia for five years now. I'm here because - you could say - I came from a privileged background. I was very lucky in that respect. When I moved down [to Abingdon], I was shocked by the need." Corrine continues, "Volunteering was what I needed to do. It was my way to give back and give back to the community, so hopefully, they could experience what I did growing up." Corrine volunteers with the Children's Feeding Kitchen and Harvest Home Community Kitchen and Pantry in Abingdon of Washington County. In Washington County, more than 7,000 neighbors experience food insecurity. We are so grateful for Corrine's commitment to these neighbors in need. She is truly making a difference. Say it with us: "Thank you, Corrine!" 🥰

Did you know? Seniors comprise one of the most vulnerable populations we serve. In Virginia, ✌️Only 2 out of every 5 seniors are enrolled in SNAP. ❗205,745 seniors experience food insecurity. 🧑‍🦳👩‍🦳 8.2% of adults aged 60 and above lack sufficient food access. 💕 Seniors with a grandchild in the home are more likely to experience food insecurity. Here's how you can help: 💰 Donate your time or resources to support our efforts to nourish seniors: /volunteer-opportunities/?form=give-now 🙌 Volunteer in the Salem region the third Thursday of every month, where close to 100 volunteers kit 1,700 Senior Food Boxes across two shifts: /volunteer-opportunities/ 🗣️ Advocate for neighbors in your community who need support. Together, we can mitigate the shame and stigma that many seniors experience when asking for help.

It's more than food 👆- it's kindness, hope, and dignity wrapped up in a delicious package. It's joy as far as the eye can see! 🧀 @kraftheinz donated 21,434 POUNDS of easy mac to our Food Bank! 🤩 Containing 18 single-serve pouches per box, this donation will help provide more than 17,800 meals for our neighbors in need. We know our agency partners and neighbors are going to LOVE this gift. Thank you to the organizations who keep our neighbors' pantries full!

We're feeling warm and fuzzy this Friday. 🫶😊 Think about it: have you ever received a lunchbox note? Our Children's team is working to serve children encouraging, uplifting, 💗 and loving notes to read with their healthy produce. 🍏 Staff, volunteers, and even our littlest neighbors are jumping in! 🙋‍♀️ If you could write to a child facing food insecurity in Southwest Virginia, what would you say? ✍️ Let us know in the comments and we will pass along your message!

Your support is critical❗ - help our Food Bank, and Food Banks around the country, continue to provide healthy foods for our neighbors in need. 🙌 With your help, we can strengthen TEFAP, a program that helps people across the country access nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, dairy and protein, including in hard-to-reach rural areas. 🫶 From mascots to volunteers, and neighbors to donors, the support of advocates like you is crucial to our continued success. 💗 Make a difference here: https://ow.ly/hML150YuKoE

From Bland to Dickenson, Hurley to Scott, and beyond, 🌄 our Food Bank is committed to improving our neighbors' experience at their favorite Food Pantries! Each of the partners pictured can choose exactly what their pantry needs to elevate its offerings. 👍⬆️ With a choice of freezers to shelving, inclusivity initiatives, garden plots 🌱, and more, our partners received $6,500 to makeover their pantry in a way that best serves their staff and community! 🌟 Give Matt, an Agency Relations Coordinator, a shoutout below for hand-delivering these checks across Southwest Virginia! And, a big THANK YOU is owed to the Worrell Foundation, for supporting the health and success of our region 😊 🙌

We’re proud to support organizations like Feeding America SWVA with apparel that helps mark milestones and spread their message. 800+ pieces are headed out the door in celebration of 45 years of service in Southwest Virginia. Since opening their doors in 1981, they’ve had a clear mission of addressing food insecurity across our region. Today, they’re the largest supplier of charitable food assistance in Southwest Virginia, working with a network of 320+ feeding programs to provide millions of pounds of nourishing food to neighbors in need. 45 years of that kind of impact is a big deal! @feedingswva ✨ #PressPressMerch #FeedingAmericaSWVA #ScreenPrinting

Our neighbors are at the forefront of our mission - and your support makes our mission possible 🫶 Want to learn more? Sign up to learn about our programming, volunteer opportunities, and impact here! /locations-contact/ 😊

Did you know? Our Mobile Marketplace offers: 🍑Fresh and frozen produce 🌽Pantry Staples 🥬Meal Kits 🍶 Proteins and Dairy Products 🫐50% off produce with SNAP .......and MORE! Our Mobile Marketplace offers all the groceries you love, at discounted cost, in one place. Visit the top of our page for more information about MMP sites near you!

Indoor farmers market on a rainy February day 🌧️🍓 Every student got to “buy” fresh produce to take home. We love our community partnership with @feedingswva that nourishes our kids 💚

POV: You're a guest of our Kid's Farmers Market! 🤩🍓 Every week, our Children's team visits your community and provide your little ones with delicious fruit, veggies, and financial literacy skills - for FREE! Our team partners with Roanoke Public Libraries (@rocopublib ) 📖 and more to bring nutritious foods to your neighborhood across Southwest Virginia! Email [email protected] to learn more about these great offerings near you! 🫸🫷

Partners and volunteers - they make our world go round! 🌎🔁 First up is Hannah Rosen and McKenzie Tate, two students of Emory & Henry University. Hannah's singularly prepped more than 1,000 healthy food boxes for our neighbors in far Southwest Virginia during her last visit! McKenzie regularly visits to help out in our Abingdon warehouse, kitchen, and more! 🤩 Next, some of our Agency Relations team in Salem helped deliver 80 cases of @Enfamil Baby Formula for @chipofroanokevalley ! Here's what this great partner had to say about the donation: "We are thrilled to receive the Enfamil ready-to-use formula. This exact formula type is such a great one for the families we serve, and it will be incredibly helpful for infants with sensitive tummies and feeding challenges." 🍼 Then, employees of LewisGale Regional Health System and @woodforestnationalbank stopped by to help out in Quality Assurance in Salem, where their kindness was translated into thousands of meals for our neighbors in need 👏 Finally, check out the future: the students of Roanoke's Mathnasium! (@Mathnasium_roanoke ) Their focus, hard work, and dedication allowed for a donation of $300 to our Food Bank! ✖️➗✅ Thanks for checking in! Want to make a difference in the charitable food system in your community? Sign up HERE: /volunteer-opportunities/ 🫸🫷