SALEM, Va. – On Thursday, dozens of food pantries and partner agencies gathered at the Feeding Southwest Virginia Agency Conference in Salem to share strategies and resources.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits remain uncertain due to the ongoing government shutdown and more families turn to food banks for help.
“We’re here to learn, we’re here to educate, engage, and empower our partner agencies,” said Pamela Irvine, President and CEO of Feeding Southwest Virginia.
Hunger remains a critical issue across the region, with 1 in 5 children facing food insecurity, according to Feeding Southwest Virginia. The organization says it serves over 100,000 neighbors each month and works with more than 200 partner agencies.
“We have workshops to address how they can raise more funds, how they can be more involved and advocate for the work that we do and for policy -- to contact our elected officials,” Irvine said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin recently launched the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) program starting in November, but uncertainty around SNAP benefits long-term still lingers.
“Almost 177,000 people that are on SNAP right now in our service area that are going to need extra help,” Irvine said. “SNAP is the first line of defense for food-insecure individuals. The charitable food distribution system, food banks, and the partner agencies that are here today are the second line of defense. We can’t replace all of the food that SNAP provides. But we’re going to step up and do our best. We’ve been food sourcing, we’ve ordered more food to prepare for this.”
Shannon Hardwicke, Executive Director of Plenty Farm and Food Bank in Floyd County, said the support they receive from Feeding Southwest Virginia is crucial. She added that she came to the conference for the grant writing session.
“Being here with other like-minded individuals that want to combat food insecurity, connecting with them and supporting each other is inspiring,” Hardwicke said. “Because these are challenging times, and this is challenging work. Right now, we need our grants. They’re very competitive.”
Jane Winters, Executive Director of Lake Christian Ministries, said the conference is essential as demand for food continues to rise.
“We’ve seen a 58% increase in the number of families that are coming, and sadly, 75% of that new client base are young families with children,” Winters said. “It’s important for us all to come together, network, figure out how we can get more volunteers, more donations, more food supplies to better serve our folks in the future.”
Families seeking help are encouraged to contact their local pantries and food banks to learn more about available resources.