Donated Food Distribution Program
The Foodbank’s Food Distribution Program serves as a regional clearinghouse for donated and purchased food as well as related items. These items are distributed to qualified nonprofit groups providing food to the less fortunate. The Foodbank acquires surpluses and potentially recoverable discards gathered from local retailers, wholesalers, distributors, food industry manufacturers, brokers, gleaning projects, food drives and individuals throughout its service area. There are also national donors through the America’s Second Harvest National Network of Food Banks.
USDA TEFAP Food Distribution Program
First quality food items are obtained from the USDA through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP); these government commodities are available to those who qualify, but make up more than 1.2 million pounds a year and for many will be some of the few fruits and vegetables seen each month.
FEMA Emergency Food Distribution Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Food Distribution Program is active not only in times of disaster, like in September 2003 when Hurricane Isabel struck, but also during holiday months when turkeys are desperately needed.
Virginia’s Table Prepared & Perishable Food Rescue Program
A Prepared and Perishable Foods Rescue Program, Virginia’s Table, gathers food from local restaurants, hospitals and educational facilities and delivers it directly to local shelters and soup kitchen feeding programs. This program distributed more than 66,093 pounds of prepared foods this past fiscal year.
Neighbor to Neighbor Program
The Neighbor to Neighbor Program links prepared and perishable food donors directly with qualified agencies who have received the appropriate safe food handling training.
We Produce...Produce Program
This program distributes surplus produce, perishable items and USDA TEFAP commodities to low income and senior housing projects.
The Bread Plus Program
The Bread Plus Program gives out donated bread from food retailers and bakeries amounting to 782,414 pounds, or an average of over 15,000 pounds of bread weekly.
Nutrition/Self-Sufficiency Training/Education Program
In meeting with the mission statement of the Peninsula Foodbank, the Nutrition Program extends nutrition, food safety and self-sufficiency training to low income individuals and member agency representatives. The training empowers individuals to strive towards meeting their own nutritional, financial and self-actualization goals.
Kid’s Cafe Program
The Kids Cafe Program provides a nutritious afternoon meal or snack to children in after school programs in a safe, caring and learning environment. There are 23 sites located in both urban and rural areas. Approximately 145,280 meals or snacks were served last year to an average of over 1,000 children weekly during the school year. When schools are closed 10 sites continue on during the summer months.
Food For Kids Program
Through partnerships with three Title I elementary schools, (defined as schools with a population of greater than 50% of the children receiving free or reduced price federal school meals), the Food for Kids Program provided 93,307 pounds of food to 380 kids this past school year! Theses distribution consisted of a variety of produce, bread and other kid friendly, yet nutritious food items.
Plant a Row for the Hungry Program
This unique program promotes nutrition, self-reliance, and urban beautification at numerous community and individual gardens.
SHARE Peninsula (Self Help and Resource Exchange)
New in January of 2002, the SHARE Program is a national network of non-profit organizations dedicated to providing quality monthly food packages at a reduced cost, promoting volunteer service in our communities and the building of partnerships between community organizations. For $17 and two hours of community service, SHARE offers a nutritious food package worth approximately $40. In its inaugural month, the program served 350 individuals. Growth in this program had increased to an average of 1,000 participants a month by June 2006.
Affiliations
The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula is a member of America’s Second Harvest National Network of Food Banks, and operates under sanitation and operational guidelines set by America’s Second Harvest, as well as federal, state and municipal health and safety regulations.
The Foodbank is a certified member of the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula, as well as the Peninsula Continuum of Care Council. These groups work collaboratively with their members to improve the quality of life of those living on the Virginia Peninsula and seek to develop a continuum of services to assist individuals in attaining self-sufficiency.
The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula cooperates with six other food banks located in the Commonwealth of Virginia (The Federation of Virginia Foodbanks) to find ways and means to bring increased amounts of nutritious foods to our service areas for distribution to the needy.
The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula serves on the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Advisory Committee which recommends purchasing and policy decisions for the administration of The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) of the USDA Commodities Food Program.
The Foodbank is an active participant and founding member of the Virginia, Southeastern Virginia, and Peninsula Regional Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). This group of non-profit organizations is active in the recovery phases of both natural and manmade disasters. Members coordinate their efforts in responding to the effects of disasters. During the response and recovery phases following Hurricane Isabel, the Foodbank distributed 491,973 pounds of food to disaster victims on the Peninsula.
2005 - 2006 Highlights
For our most recently concluded fiscal period of July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006, the Foodbank distributed 8,176,494 pounds of food, representing an increase of 163,510 pounds, or 2%, over the previous fiscal period.
Community nonprofit organizations withdrawing food from the Foodbank increased by 4 501(c)3 agencies this fiscal period, growing from 215 to 219. These agencies comprised a total of 460 programs assisting the Virginia Peninsula's needy and hungry.
The number of participants utilizing the Nutrition Education Self Sufficiency Training Program grew by 29% this fiscal year, providing nutrition, food safety and basic living skills training to 25,873 low income, at risk individuals, empowering them to strive towards meeting their own nutritional, financial and self-actualization goals.
The Kid’s Café Program has grown to 24 sites with 184,754 meals or nutritious snacks served in FY 2005 – 2006. Kids Cafes provide nutritious afternoon meals or snacks to under-privileged school children in a safe, caring and learning environment. Through partnerships with six Title I elementary schools, (defined as schools with a population of greater than 50% of the children receiving free or reduced price federal school meals), our Food For Kids Program provided weekly throughout the school year nutritious bags of food for over 380 children. These distributions consisted of a variety of produce, bread and other kid friendly, yet nutritious food items, and amounted to 93,307 pounds this fiscal year, a 31% increase over last year.
This past year our Prepared and Perishable Foods Program rescued 66,093 pounds of food that would have otherwise been discarded, a 20% increase from last year.
Our Community Gardens Program continued promoting nutrition, self-reliance, and urban beautification by our participation in the Plant A Row for the Hungry Program.
A total of 41,106 volunteer hours (including 25,050 hours in the SHARE Program) were contributed from throughout our service area, saving $741,552 in salaries (based on a value of $18.04/hour as determined by the Independent Sector) in support of the Foodbank and its hunger relief programs on the Peninsula in FY 2005 – 2006.
Functional expenses for support services (management and general as well as fund raising) amounted to only 22.68% before the value of donated food distributed is considered. Correspondingly, 77.32% of our expenses were devoted to program services which go directly to our neighbors in need on the Peninsula. When the value of donated food distributed, which amounted to $10,911,808 is taken into account, over 97% of our expenses are devoted to program services, with less than 3% being utilized for support services of fundraising and management and general.
Total Functional Expenses (excluding the value of donated food distributed and the cost of goods sold for purchased food), were 15.30 cents per pound of donated food distributed. This represents a 3% decrease from last fiscal year. For less than 20 cents, which is much less than the cost to mail a first class letter, the Foodbank can provide enough donated food for a meal. For every dollar contributed, the Foodbank provides nearly $10.00 worth of food. This same dollar is also an amount sufficient to supply close to five meals.
FOODBANK OF THE VIRGINIA PENINSULA, INC.
9912 Hosier Street, Newport News, VA 23601 * Phone: (757) 596-7
