About the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia
The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia (FSEVA) 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 500 partner agencies.
USDA Commodities: FSEVA is a State 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.
Fresh Food Initiative: This is an effort to collect prepared and perishable food from over 100 area restaurants, hotels, caterers, country clubs, and hospitals to distribute immediately to the hungry at on-site feeding agencies.
Kids Cafe: FSEVA has established over 25 Kids Cafes, wonderful after-school feeding programs for disadvantaged latchkey children. Because FSEVA's Kids Cafes are conveniently located in low-income neighborhoods, participating children can walk or bicycle to these sites after school. Over 76,000 children in FSEVA's area receive free or reduced school lunches - a reliable indicator that hunger and food insecurity regularly threaten their respective lives.
Senior Supplement Food Program: Like childhood hunger, hunger experienced by seniors can have a lasting and life-altering effect. Each month, FSEVA provides low-income seniors with highly nutritious food items, particularly towards the end of the month when most food budgets are low or depleted.
Justine's Clothes Bank and Tasley Thrift Store: FSEVA's clothes bank distributes new clothing to the poor and to agencies serving the poor. FSEVA's Foodbank on the Eastern Shore also operates a thrift store to meet the needs of the area's poor and to generate modest income for the Foodbank.
Plant-A-Row for the Hungry Program: Through a working partnership with the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, local gardeners are encouraged to plant an extra row of produce and contribute that part of their harvest to FSEVA 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. FSEVA 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.
