The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula Providing Food Security

The Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula's Food Distribution Program serves as a regional clearinghouse for donated and purchased food as well as related items. In turn, these items are distributed to qualified nonprofit organize-tions providing food to the less fortunate on the Peninsula. The Foodbank acquires surpluses and potentially recov-erable discards gathered from local retailers, wholesalers, distributors, food industry manufacturers, brokers, gro-cery stores, gleaning projects and individual donors from throughout our service area on the Virginia Peninsula. Further, food made available for the Peninsula’s needy residents is also received from national donors through the America’s Second Harvest National Network of Food Banks. Also, first quality food items are obtained from the USDA through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), collected in food drives supported by numerous organizations and individuals, as well as purchased with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and other private grant funding. The Foodbank then distributes these goods to emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other nonprofit agencies which assist Peninsula residents who fall into need each day. In 2005 – 2006, the Foodbank provided food to 219 nonprofit member agencies comprising 459 programs supplying food security to the needy on the Peninsula.

The population targeted by the Foodbank is those individuals at risk of losing their food security by nature of the fact that they live at 185% or below the poverty level. According to US Census Bureau, Census 2000, nearly 50,000 people in the afore-mentioned jurisdictions are at risk of food insecurity, and many from outright hunger, lamentably because of the fact that they live at or below the poverty level.

(Currently at $20,000 a year for a family of four). Of these impoverished people, 18,591 are related children under the age of eighteen. Further, an addi-tional 78,000 individuals are at risk of food insecurity because their annual household incomes do not exceed $25,000, or 185% of the poverty level for the average household size on the Peninsula.

This level of 185% of poverty is the income threshold for the majority of Federal Food Assistance pro-grams, including the free or reduced price School Breakfast Program, the National School Lunch Pro-gram, the Summer Food Service Program, the Spe-cial Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, In-fants and Children (WIC), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Organizations and resources in the fight to end hunger.

Scroll to the bottom to see Virginia's  population.

America's Second Harvest

www.secondharvest.org
Network of over 200 food banks and food rescue programs, it is the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization.

BenefitsCheckup.org

www.benefitscheckup.org
Developed by the National Council on the Aging, this site provides a calculator for federal benefits available to seniors.

Center on Hunger and Poverty

www.centeronhunger.org
Part of Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, the center releases policy papers and research concerning hunger and poverty.

Congressional Hunger Center

www.ghn.org/chc/
Outgrowth of the Congressional Select Committee on Hunger. The center provides educational resources and fellowships focusing on direct service and hunger policy.

Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)

www.frac.org
National hunger advocacy and research organization. The site contains extensive information about hunger policy, news and reports.

United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service

www.fns.usda.gov/fns/
Federal agency that administers food stamps, school meals and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. The site features publications, participation requirements and program data.

United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service

www.ers.usda.gov
Provides extensive research concerning federal food and nutrition assistance programs.