Editor’s Note: Food insecurity is a major concern in our region. We’re honored to shine a light on the extraordinary efforts of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, its partners, and the volunteers who showed up yesterday for the annual Turkeys and Toys event. Food insecurity is a year-round issue, however. Please consider volunteering or donating to the FRFB in 2024. And if you need help, reach out to FRFB.
by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
We often talk about need in terms of cold numbers. The human cost of hunger was measured in more-concrete terms on Saturday – cars.
Starting at 5 a.m., vehicles filled with families lined up at Virginia Credit Union Stadium for the annual Turkey and Toys event put on by the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, and sponsored by Davis Defense Group.
By 10 a.m., Carl D. Silver Parkway had become a parking lot more than a half-mile long, filled with people sitting in their cars awaiting their turn to receive the meals and toys gathered for the event.
“Each of the three years we have held this event, the number of families seeking assistance has grown and the volume of food and toys required to serve them has increased,” said Dan Maher, President & CEO of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.
On Saturday, some 1,000 families waited as the FRFB distributed enough food for 65,000 meals.
it is indeed humbling to see the tremendous need for our services. A major event like this is a reminder to all of us associated with the Food Bank of how vital our daily service to the community is.
– Dan Maher, president of the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank
Slated to end at 2 p.m., there were so many cars that the last in line did not receive what they came for until 3:30 PM.
“Around 12:30 p.m.,” Maher told FXBG Advance, “we had to start encouraging families waiting in line to recognize they may not receive any items from the distribution because the line ahead of them was still several hundred cars long.”
Every car was served, but not before all the food supplies were exhausted. An indeterminate number of people toward the end of the line received toys, but no food outlays.
Not Just the Holidays
The annual growth in people coming to the Turkeys and Toys event tracks with the growing number of people annually who avail themselves of FRFB’s services.
Over the course of Maher’s tenure, the demand for services has been steadily moving up. COVID certainly had a lot to do with that, but it’s far from the only issue. Inflation, soaring housing costs, and crippling student loan debt are also pushing families even in middle-class homes to seek assistance meeting their basic nutritional needs.
Meeting these demands involves more than providing food. An event hosted by FRFB in June and covered by the Advance focused on drying up COVID emergency funds, the difficulties of transporting and storing food, and the large number of families who have access to but are not using SNAP to supplement their nutritional needs. As many as 3 out of every 4 eligible families do not receive the benefits they’re qualified to receive.
Currently, about 1 in 10 Virginians – roughly 850,000 people – receive SNAP benefits. That means there are about 2.5 million more people who qualify but don’t receive benefits.
Do you qualify for SNAP? This simple test at Benefits.gov will tell you.
“We are grateful to have the privilege of serving so many in a single day,” said Maher, “and are grateful to the volunteers and donors who make the event possible, but it is indeed humbling to see the tremendous need for our services. A major event like this is a reminder to all of us associated with the Food Bank of how vital our daily service to the community is.”
You can help this season, and throughout the year
FXBG Advance readers are generous people. We encourage you to explore the many ways that you can assist the FRFB this season and throughout the year.
Time, of course, is precious, and if you’re not able to assist the FRFB in person, there are many ways that you can help through donations, giving societies, and campaigns for good.
Most important, if you are in need of nutritional support, know that the FRFB is there to make it easy for you to secure the help you require.
