Pr. William food pantries struggle to meet needs for donations, volunteers
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Version 0 of 1. With the onset of the holidays, volunteers and donations to food banks in the area typically ramp up. It’s a traditional upsurge of charitable giving commensurate with the spirit of the season. Prince William County food pantries are planning special holiday food drives, such as Operation Turkey, an annual collection by ACTS (Action in Community Through Service) in Dumfries. Bryana Shevlin, the food pantry manager at ACTS, says volunteers quickly signed up to help with the annual drive to provide food items for a Thanksgiving meal. “The community has been really great in setting up for our Thanksgiving food drive — all 150 slots for that are filled right away,” Shevlin said. But Shevlin hopes that when the holidays wrap up, the donations continue to flow and volunteers keep showing up to help. “This time of year, people are very generous about wanting to help out, but we operate throughout the year; we need donations and volunteers throughout the year,” she said. “In general, I need volunteers who will commit on a regular basis.” She said the food bank’s most pressing need is for volunteers who can donate an hour or two a week to transport donated food from area stores to the pantry. Shevlin said demand for food increases at this time of year and more clients seek out groceries provided by ACTS. “It’s colder out, so people are spending more money on utilities,” she said. “And after September, when they spent all that money getting kids ready for school, they’re short on money. I think it’s a multitude of things.” Darrell Dixon, manager of the Hunger Resource Center at SERVE, the Prince William arm of Northern Virginia Family Service, based in Manassas, said his group is also struggling to meet the demand for food and volunteers. “Right now, we don’t have enough items to put into our emergency bags,” Dixon said, adding that there’s a great need for personal toiletry items, as well as nonperishable food. “People come in who are homeless, can’t wait till their next appointment, and we give them emergency food,” Dixon said. “We have a shelter across the street where we house up to 97 families, and they can always use that stuff over there, as well.” The Hunger Resource Center also needs volunteers, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day, and on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, when the center has expanded hours to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of people who work during the day. Dixon said the hours reflect the changing demographics of clients with food shortages. “When SERVE first opened up, they basically catered to the homeless,” he said. “But nowadays, we’re really serving the working poor. There’s definitely been an increase. “What we’re seeing is: Food is expensive. Work is not like it was,” he added. “Most of our clients are part time, some may be full time. . . . Their money doesn’t equal out to the size of their family. The week’s worth of groceries we give them works out to $180 worth of food. So if they come here once a month and get that little bit of help from us, that’s a big load off their back.” SERVE has recently added programs to better help its clients prepare donated food, including hiring a nutritionist and providing clients with demonstrations to show them how to cook and serve the food, which can include a variety of dry or canned goods and unfamiliar vegetables. “Instead of people coming in and getting a week’s worth of groceries, we want them to come in and get education, as well,” Dixon said. Even with the expanded services, Dixon said, there is an ongoing need for donations and volunteers. “Hunger is a serious issue here,” he said. Lanyi is a freelance writer. ACTS has a list of donation needs, including breakfast cereals, canned beans and vegetables, and diapers, on its Web site, www.actspwc.org. SERVE has a list of donation needs, including toiletry items and boxed and canned food products, on its Web site, www.nvfs.org/hrcdonations. |