Neighbors Helping Neighbors End Local Hunger

One in four children in Fairfax County and 9.5% in Loudoun County struggle with food insecurity and many of these families do not qualify for federal nutrition programs. “At Food For Neighbors, we are grateful for the support of the community to help us address this issue by providing a reliable source of supplemental food for local students on a weekly basis,” shared Karen Joseph, Founder and Executive Director of Food For Neighbors.

With a recent expansion into the Ashburn area, Food For Neighbors brought the Loudoun community together to complete its second Ashburn community food event on March 11, collecting nearly 1,000 pounds of food to benefit middle and high school students in Loudoun County. Food for Neighbors currently supports Stone Bridge High School and Stone Hill Middle School in Ashburn and schools in Sterling with students qualifying for Free and Reduced Price Meals ranging from 36-91% of students, including Potomac Falls High School, River Bend Middle School, Park View High School, Sterling Middle School, Dominion High School, Seneca Ridge Middle School, and Robey High School. These school-based supplemental food offerings include food pantries, in-school snacks, and weekend food support.

“Food insecurity exists everywhere, even in our local neighborhoods,” noted Joy Widding, Food For Neighbors’ Ashburn Area Manager. “The heart of Food For Neighbors is the Red Bag program, which mobilizes individuals to shop for shelf-stable items and set them on their doorsteps for collection. Drivers pick up the filled bag from the donor’s front door, then volunteers sort and distribute the food to local schools the same day.”

Driver Coordinator Ellen McDougall noted, “Food For Neighbors volunteers collected Red Bag food donations from 82 households across Brambleton, Belmont, Lansdowne, and Ashburn this past weekend.”

Participants in the March 11 event ranged from teens earning volunteer hours to those seeking a family service opportunity to Loudoun community members supporting each other. Among the volunteers were members of Girl Scout Troop #1550 and the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL). Parents and students from both groups helped the day’s collection, sorting, and packing run smoothly.

YMSL parent Andi Huppert noted, “Food For Neighbors creates an opportunity for students who may not be aware of food insecurity to help others in their peer group.” YMSL member Jack Brinker, who worked along with his brother Will and mom Annie to unload the red bags that drivers collected from donors across Loudoun County and sort the food into bins to be shared with local schools observed, “It was great how everyone came together to make everything run so efficiently.”

As part of National Poverty Awareness Month, Cardinal Ridge Elementary School in Centerville organized a three-week food drive to collect items to donate to Food For Neighbors. “I asked our scholars to bring in food to share with neighboring schools, and the Cardinal Ridge community showed up and showed out,” shared Cardinal Ridge Principal Dr. Mojisola Adejumo. “I want our students to understand the greatness already inside of them, and making an impact in our community is one way to demonstrate that excellence.”

By distributing resources through schools, Food For Neighbors provides easy access to a reliable, nutritious food source. Removing the obstacle of hunger adds immensely to the quality of life of students, who then have the opportunity to focus on their education and relationships. With less pressure to work long hours to provide for themselves and their families, students can remain in school. While there, they are better able to stay focused, as hunger is not interfering with higher thinking. Food For Neighbors empowers children to live healthy lives, where they may thrive and succeed in school. Longer term, being better students helps them become successful members of the community, which lifts up everyone.

Last year, the nonprofit gave over 92,000 pounds of food and toiletries and, to complement the shelf-stable food, over $153,000 in grocery gift cards for most-needed items like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats to 35 secondary schools in Northern Virginia.

Joseph noted, “We could not consistently help students without community support. Our whole approach centers on mobilizing community members to assist students at their local schools, and we thank our over 1,700 registered food donors and 1,200 volunteers who have signed up to help throughout Northern Virginia.”

In thinking about how Food For Neighbors can expand, Widding shared, “Loudoun County has such a generous heart. I can’t wait to see how the Food For Neighbors program grows in Loudoun County as we get more community members supporting the Red Bag program by donating food and offering their hands-on support.”

To become a Red Bag donor at the next Food For Neighbors on April 29, visit Food For Neighbors or scan the QR code below.

About Food For Neighbors
Mobilizing the local community to provide supplemental food to nearby secondary schools, Food For Neighbors collects, sorts, and delivers food so our community schools can distribute a reliable source of supplemental nutrition each week to students who struggle with food insecurity. Food For Neighbors is committed to ending hunger in Northern Virginia to help give all students a chance to succeed. Last school year, the nonprofit gave over 92,000 pounds of food and toiletries and, to complement the shelf-stable food, over $153,000 in grocery gift cards for most-needed items like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats to 35 secondary schools in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington County.