Helping Neighbors in Their "Home Away from Home"

On Saturday, January 14th, the German Armed Forces Command joined Food For Neighbors for its first Red Bag food collection and sorting event of 2023. In addition to helping to sort thousands of pounds of food arriving at the nonprofit’s original Herndon collection site, the Command also presented the six-year-old nonprofit with a donation of over $4,000. The generous funds will help fight teen food insecurity in 37 Northern Virginia schools, several of which serve the Command’s families who currently call the area home.

As Colonel Joerg Dronia shared, “From the very first moment the German Armed Forces Command USA and Canada moved its office to Reston in April 1991, the soldiers, civilians and all their families felt heartily welcome in this great community. For all of us it is an irrefutable fact that we have found a home away from home.” He furthered, “Knowing that we Germans are privileged to live in this community, we at the same time recognize that not everybody is equally blessed. Therefore, we take much pride in being able to help and support those in need in our neighborhoods.”

Food For Neighbors’ Founder and Executive Director, Karen Joseph, thanked Colonel Dronia, Commander of the German Armed Forces Command, for the generous support. She also thanked Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and Town of Herndon Mayor Sheila Olem, who joined Food For Neighbors and the German Armed Forces Command in making a difference.

“We very much appreciate Supervisor Foust and Mayor Olem for being with us today. They do so much for our community, and their support means the world to us,” noted Joseph. “I think they agree that Colonel Dronia and his staff from the German Armed Forces Command are excellent examples of what it means to be good neighbors. We are one of many organizations that have benefited from their generosity, and we thank them for all that they do to help our most vulnerable community members.”

Supervisor Foust agreed and also thanked the German Armed Forces Command as well as the many volunteers at Herndon Middle School on Saturday. He stated that “Fairfax County works very hard to help our most vulnerable population with food insecurity. However, we couldn’t do it without the tremendous efforts of our nonprofit partners such as Food For Neighbors. Congratulations on your success in helping our teens. On behalf of The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, thank you Karen and team!”

By the conclusion of the Red Bag event, volunteers in Herndon and seven additional sites in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Arlington County had collected and sorted over 19,000 pounds of food donated by over 1,500 households. Thanks to their efforts and community support, students returned to school to find pantries fully stocked. To learn more about Food For Neighbors and its innovative Red Bag Program, please visit https://www.foodforneighbors.org/red-bag-program/.