About the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia

The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia (FSEVA), established in 1981, works to provide solutions to hunger and certain consequences of poverty in our community by promoting food recovery by means of acquiring and distributing food, clothing, and related products to those in crisis in our community. The Foodbank also provides community leadership and education on issues of hunger.

Our service area includes a large contingency of working individuals and families, many of whom are affected by very high rates of poverty, malnutrition, and related health problems. Overcrowded, sub-standard housing is the norm, not the exception, and problems such as broken families, unemployment, and underemployment round out this picture of hopelessness for many of our neighbors. Many children are at-risk, and nutrient deficiencies can lead to serious health problems and poor academic performance. Additionally, the elderly population is now impacted due to the rise in cost of living expenses out pacing their fixed income. Young and old, these are the faces of hunger — the faces that we, as a community, lend a helping hand to every day.

• Provides nutritious canned, boxed, fresh, frozen, and prepared food to over 380,000 individuals annually (12,000 of these on the Eastern Shore). This food is recovered and secured from restaurants, supermarkets, food distributors, the USDA, farmers, wholesalers, sportsmen, and through food and fund drives.

• Assembles a full-course, nutritious meal for only $.34 – much less than the price of a postage stamp! In fact, for every $1 donation FSEVA receives, we can assemble and distribute up to $6 dollars worth of groceries.

• Distributes emergency food to over 325 partner agencies and programs including soup kitchens, faith-based food pantries, neighborhood centers, family crisis centers, and homeless shelters for adults and children. By accessing food from FSEVA rather than purchasing from commercial outlets, each of these partner agencies has expanded resources to advance their own missions.

• Prides ourselves on the work of some amazing volunteers who contribute more than 1,700 hours monthly to advance our humanitarian mission. Our 3,665 volunteers give more than 21,000 hours annually!

• Serves those who are hungry throughout the Foodbank’s 3,500-square-mile service area including the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin and Virginia Beach as well as the counties of Southampton, Northampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight and Accomack. Even though the Foodbank is salvaging and distributing more food than ever before, census and poverty statistics clearly show that we are a long way from meeting the need. In order to meet this goal, we have instituted more programs to obtain additional food to reach more people.

The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia operates the following programs with the hope of ending hunger and economic disparity:

Warehouse Distribution Program: Except for USDA commodities, this program includes all food and grocery products from food drives, purchases, and donations from manufacturers and supermarkets. This is the heart of the Foodbank – where millions of pounds of food are sorted, boxed, and delivered to more than 325 partner agencies and programs.

USDA Commodities: The Foodbank is a Commonwealth of Virginia contractor for the distribution of USDA commodities to designated agencies. This source of food includes quality meats, fish, canned and packaged fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, pasta, and peanut butter.

Food Rescue Program: This is an initiative to collect prepared and perishable food from 143 area grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, and discount retailers to distribute immediately to the hungry. Annually, the Foodbank collects over 3 million pounds through this program.

Mobile Pantry Program: This new system of distribution serves food to our neediest communities, while coordinating with our partner agencies and other social service organizations to determine delivery locations. This program is hugely successful in providing a means for individuals and families to receive food when they cannot travel to an agency, or their local agency is at-capacity.

Kids Cafe: This national after-school program was created by Feeding America™ and is administered locally by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. It is a place where children ages 4 through 18 can go to receive free, nutritious evening meals in a safe, supportive environment. Twenty-Eight Kids Cafes are currently operating, conveniently located in low-income neighborhoods so participating children can walk or bicycle to these sites after school. In fiscal year 2010 we served 281,466 nutritionally balanced meals to 4,429 youth through this program.

BackPack Program: This nationally-recognized program distributes nutritious food to children at the end of the school day, before weekends and/or school breaks. Students are identified by school personnel as being food insecure by a variety of criteria. Over 79,600 children in the Foodbank’s area are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school lunches – a reliable indicator that hunger and food insecurity regularly threaten their respective lives. At present, the Foodbank serves 28 elementary schools in our area. During fiscal year 2010, we distributed 71,528 meals to 1,871 children through this program.

Justine's Clothes Bank and Tasley Thrift Store: The Foodbank clothes bank distributes new clothing to our neighbors in need and to agencies serving them. Our branch location on the Eastern Shore also operates a thrift store to meet the needs of the area’s struggling residents and to generate modest income for the Foodbank.

Plant-A-Row for the Hungry Program: Local gardeners are encouraged to plant an extra row of produce and contribute that part of their harvest to the Foodbank and its member agencies to use in their feeding programs.

Community Gardens: A terrific source of vitamins and an alternative to processed foods, Community Gardens are promoted in areas of low-income housing. The Foodbank serves as a mentor to the residents of the communities to plan, plant, care for, and harvest a garden that is shared by everyone who participates.