Food for Others

12/23/2022

Construction is moving fast at our new My Market! As we get closer to our open date, the new space is in the process of being painted. The freezer and the market sliding door are also in progress.

12/20/2022

Dynamic Duos: Hecda Cuadros and Debbie Snedden - Food for Others Website

This time of year is all about spreading warmth and appreciating those around us, and we're especially grateful for the work of our incredible volunteers! Check out the newest article in our Dynamic Duos series, featuring Hecda Cuadros and Debbie Snedden.

https://foodforothers.org/dynamic-duos-hecda-cuadros-and-debbie-snedden/

Thank you to Debbie and Hecda for your generosity and dedication to helping your neighbors in need!

“Debbie’s knowledge and expertise plus Hecda’s ability to speak Spanish and their awesome customer service skills make them a perfect pair,” shared Shannon White, Food for Others’ Volunteer Coordinator. Their incredible teamwork makes them Food for Others’ next dynamic duo. Hecda Cuadros...

12/16/2022

Food for Others was honored to be joined by the Logenix International team at our Merrifield warehouse today! Logenix began supporting Food for Others at the beginning of the pandemic through food donations. Today, they generously presented us with a $25,000 check in support of our neighbors in need this holiday season. Truly amazing - Thank you for your support and for being an advocate in the fight against hunger!

12/15/2022

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Food for Others! We wish you and your loved ones a cheerful holiday season!

12/13/2022

A huge thank you to the Capital One Hall, Capital One Center, JLL, & Wegmans teams for supporting Food for Others and spreading some holiday cheer!🤗

Looking for ways to get involved? Visit www.foodforothers.org to see all the ways you can support our neighbors in need this holiday season!

12/08/2022

A Murphy Family Thanksgiving Tradition - Food for Others Website

Over the past 15 years, Ian Murphy, with the help of his family, has run a food drive supporting Food for Others. Hear from him about his experience in the article below!

At 7 years old, Ian Murphy told his family he wanted to run his first food drive. Today, at 22, his food drive tradition continues to thrive. Murphy is now a Senior at Miami University in Ohio. He, along with his family, have now hosted the drive for the past 15 years. Young Ian

12/06/2022

As we move into December, you may be looking for a way to donate toys to children in need. You can send a toy with just a few clicks via INOVA Children's Hospitals Amazon Wishlist!

12/05/2022

Food for Others

233,078 times food was provided to families
3.7M lbs of food distributed
49,893 individuals served

FY22 was an incredible year at Food for Others. Follow along with us throughout December as we walk through our impact!

Foodbank in NOVA

12/02/2022

Tips for Holiday Giving

The spirit of giving during the holiday season always amazes us at Food for Others! If you're considering donating food, check out some donation tips from the Fairfax Food Council below!

Happy Holidays from the Fairfax Food Council! Check out some of our top tips for holiday season donations here!

11/29/2022

Today is GivingTuesday! Join the global giving movement and support your neighbors experiencing food insecurity this holiday season. A donation of $25 alone can provide a gallon of milk to 15 families - Every act of generosity counts!

https://foodforothers.salsalabs.org/GivingTuesdayMatch2022/index.html

11/28/2022

Understanding Food Insecurity Among Native American Communities - Food for Others Website

November is Native American Heritage Month, and at Food for Others, we wanted to learn more about food insecurity in Native American communities.

https://foodforothers.org/understanding-food-insecurity-among-native-american-communities/

Also, please take a moment to listen to some Indigenous voices discussing food insecurity and the growing food sovereignty movement here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqPBxcDg8GM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGkWI7c74oo&t=633s

25% of Native Americans, more than double the national rate, experience food insecurity. In Indigenous communities, 35% of children are food insecure (Feeding America). 18 of the 28 Native American counties in the United States were found to have high food insecurity (Move on Hunger). Many Native Am...

11/24/2022

Happy Thanksgiving from Food for Others! We greatly appreciate the support of our amazing giving community and volunteers. To those who are celebrating, we hope you enjoy the holiday!

Hear from our Executive Director, Annie Turner, below:
https://foodforothers.org/thanksgiving-thank-you-from-the-food-for-others-team/

11/23/2022

937 families. This has been an incredible week at Food for Others. We’ve had 937 families pick up food at our warehouse location over the past three days. That’s double our usual average of 150 families per day. We owe tremendous gratitude to our volunteers, especially our ticket pullers, who over the past week have stepped up to help us serve the increasing number of families experiencing food insecurity during the holiday season.

11/22/2022

If you're hoping to donate some non-food items this holiday season, consider supporting Fairfax Diapers through a diaper drive. Fairfax Diapers provides diapers to community partners, including Food for Others, that directly serve families in need.

11/21/2022

In just over two weeks, so much has changed! Our new My Market now has walls and a concrete foundation for a ramp. We're amazed by the progress made and look forward to future updates!

11/18/2022

58,044 lbs. Paul VI Catholic High School donated 58,044 lbs during their Hunger Awareness Week food drive. They doubled their donation weight from last year. We are absolutely amazed by the generosity and hard work of their students! We're so grateful for the support of the Paul VI community in serving our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

11/17/2022

Clients come to Food for Others for a wide variety of reasons. They have complex stories and histories, and many find themselves unexpectedly in need of food assistance.

Just out of our warehouse, we serve roughly 150 clients per day. This is one of their stories. Introducing .... Becky M.

11/16/2022

About Hunger and Homelessness | Move for Hunger

November 12th marked the beginning of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Situated just before Thanksgiving, this week serves as a reminder of these issues in our community. Please check out the resources below to get engaged with the week!

https://moveforhunger.org/hunger-and-homelessness

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/homelessness-statistics/

Learn about hunger and homelessness in America. A look at the facts about homelessness and food insecurity data show that hunger and homelessness often have distinct causes.

11/14/2022

Dynamic Duos: Featuring Jane Polzer and Wil Sanders - Food for Others Website

Here at Food for Others we love our volunteers! Check out our first blog feature in the series "Dynamic Duos." In the new series, you'll hear from some incredible volunteer partnerships, beginning with Jane Polzer and Wil Sanders.

Welcome to Dynamic Duos! Dynamic Duos is Food for Others’ newest Blog Series, featuring incredible volunteer partnerships. Jane Polzer and Wil Sanders are the perfect example of a Dynamic Duo. They are volunteer extraordinaries, passionate about food security, working together to serve clients. Po...

11/13/2022

Happy World Kindness Day! We're so excited to celebrate it with you! Today is a great reminder to do something kind for your community, friends, or family. From signing up to volunteer to sending a sweet text to a friend you haven't seen in a while, your kindness makes a difference.

If you're able, in honor of Kindness Day, please consider donating via our Amazon wishlist! We're experiencing a severe decrease in available food at this time due to supply chain issues. We're particularly low on milk and meal options for the Power Pack Program.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1YYI2VWY58YCL?ref_=wl_fv_le

Donations can be addressed to 2938 Prosperity Avenue, Fairfax VA 22031

11/11/2022

Expansion Excitement

The expansion is underway at Food for Others, and our excitement is only growing. Hear more from our staff on why they're looking forward to the expansion below!

Food for Others is expanding! Hear from our staff why they're looking forward to our new and improved My Market.

11/10/2022

Construction is underway on our new My Market! Studs are up surrounding the grocery shopping space, and the stairs were demolished today. The stairs will be replaced with an ADA accessible ramp! We're so excited for the new space to open. Please stay tuned for more construction updates in the future!

11/09/2022

At Food for Others, hearing the stories of our clients is crucial to our work! By listening to their feedback, we learn how we can improve and better support them.

This is Suzana's story.

If you'd like to support more clients like Suzana, consider donating to Food for Others.

https://foodforothers.salsalabs.org/FallGiving/index.html

11/08/2022

If you're looking for a place to donate books this holiday season, consider supporting Books are Food for the Brain. They provide books to local schools and community based organizations! Back in January 2020, they even filled a bookshelf in Food for Others' client waiting area.
Books Are Food For Your Brain
Contact them with donation inquiries at: [email protected]

11/07/2022

Introducing Robert Farrell, Our New Board Chair - Food for Others Website

This October Robert Farrell became our newest Board Chair! Check out the article below to learn more about him and his goals for the board.

“I jumped at the chance.” This is how Food for Others’ new Board Chair, Robert Farrell, felt when he first learned we were looking for a new chair. Farrell has been a member of the Board for 5 years, initially joining in 2017. He was appointed to Board Chair at the October 2022 Board Meeting

11/05/2022

Here at Food for Others we absolutely love our Volunteer Management Team! Nikki and Shannon are incredible, and we're lucky to have them. Check out some sweet quotes from our volunteers below!

Also, thank you to all the volunteers who shared their thoughts!

11/04/2022

As we get closer to the holiday season, we know many of our community members may be interested in donating non food items. This year we want to highlight some incredible local organizations collecting toys, clothes, coats, bedding, etc.

ECHO (Ecumenical Community Helping Others) is an amazing organization located in Springfield. They collect items all year round in addition to specific holiday season items! You can even donate toys to them through their convenient Amazon wishlist.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1SR6OHG83OPM5?ref_=wl_share

11/03/2022

We are so grateful for the work of all our volunteers! Without their help, we wouldn't be able to serve so many families experiencing food insecurity. Since November is a month all about giving thanks, we wanted to give our volunteers a special shoutout!

We're lucky to have many dedicated volunteers who worked over 50 hrs in the last year! Thank you for all your hard work!

11/02/2022

Happy November! The holiday season tends to be our busiest time at Food for Others, and we're calling on you to ask for some extra support as we distribute to increasing numbers of clients.

Currently, our most needed items are listed below. We're open for donations Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 5 PM and Sunday from 12 PM to 5 PM. We're located at 2938 Prosperity Avenue, Fairfax VA.

If you're interested in supporting Food for Others but want to stay away from the grocery store, consider donating food via our Amazon wishlist.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/28CATJNWVS2OT

11/01/2022

Message from Annie - Food for Others Website

We're a few weeks into our expansion now, and we're truly thrilled to open our new My Market. With the construction beginning, some things will be changing at Food for Others. Read Executive Director Annie Turner's message below to find out more about the expansion and what it means for our incredible community!

FFO Community, The Food for Others team is truly amazed by the passion and support of this community. Through the lingering effects of COVID-19 and the unknown implications of inflation, this community has remained steadfast in their dedication to our neighbors in need. As advocates of food access a...

10/31/2022

Wishing you a Happy Halloween from all of us at Food for Others!

And this Halloween don't forget that something truly spooky is food insecurity in Northern Virginia.

10/27/2022

We're so excited to announce our second Golf Tournament at International Country Club on Monday, May 22nd! The Tournament is a great opportunity to enjoy a day on the green while also helping your neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Learn more about our event here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/612741697260150?ref=newsfeed

10/27/2022

Sending a huge thank you to Capital One for their work assembling power packs! We're so grateful to have the support of local businesses in our work serving children and families experiencing food insecurity.

10/12/2022

Happy National Farmers' Day! This year we've been absolutely amazed by the generosity of our local farmers. Each donation made a huge difference in the amount of produce we've been able to provide to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.
JK Community Farm F. J. Medina & Sons Farm Hollin Farms J&W Valley View Farm Linda Vista Farm

10/10/2022

Today, Food for Others is closed in honor of Indigenous Peoples' Day! Please check out the resources below to learn more about the day and why it's important.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/indigenous-peoples-day.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2022/09/26/five-ideas-for-celebrating-indigenous-peoples-day-2022/

Also, since we work in the food insecurity space, we want to share more about how hunger uniquely impacts Indigenous communities. According to Move for Hunger, 1 of every 4 Native Americans has experienced food insecurity, compared to 1 of every 9 Americans overall.

https://moveforhunger.org/native-americans-food-insecure #:~:text=Historically%2C%20American%20Indian%20and%20Alaskan,white%2Fnon%2Dhispanic%20individuals.

10/07/2022

It might not look like much yet, but we're very excited to have started demo on our new & improved My Market this week! We're thrilled to be one step closer to bringing choice and greater empowerment to our clients. Stay tuned for the ground breaking. 🔧🔨🔧

10/03/2022

Are you looking for a new, meaningful volunteer opportunity? If so, we're currently searching for volunteer drivers for our Power Pack Program. This is an excellent opportunity to help students in our community!

The Power Pack Program provides weekend meal packs to students experiencing food insecurity at 43 Fairfax County schools. The packs include two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, two snacks, and two drinks.

As a volunteer driver, you would pick up the power packs at Food for Others prior to their Friday afternoon distribution and then deliver them to the school. Pick-up takes place on the mornings of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday according to the schedule of the recipient school.

We're looking for drivers to deliver to the following schools:
- Centre Ridge ES (Centreville)
- Timber Lane ES (Falls Church)
- Fairhill ES (Fairfax)
- Bucknell ES (Alexandria)

Please reach out to our Director of Volunteer Services, Nikki Clifford, if you're interested! You can contact her at [email protected]. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to comment below!

09/30/2022

Sending a huge congratulations to ECHO for opening their client choice market! Our Executive Director, Annie Turner, is a member of the Fairfax County Emergency Food Strategy Team, along with ECHO, and we're so excited to see local organizations taking such incredible steps for client empowerment.

09/30/2022

Thank you to all who participated in Hunger Action Month! Hunger Action Month is a crucial reminder of the prevalence of food insecurity in our community, and we're absolutely thrilled by the activism and volunteerism it's prompted this year.

09/28/2022

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health - The White House

Today's the day! For the first time in 53 years, the White House is hosting a conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The last conference, in 1969, grew the food stamp program. Check out the agenda below!

https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/white-house-conference-hunger-nutrition-and-health/agenda/

Along with the executive summary:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/27/executive-summary-biden-harris-administration-national-strategy-on-hunger-nutrition-and-health/?fbclid=IwAR3xh8xfLCsvcUWUBl5fBI-4Wi43pCndAfBh5UZRuTjUyrlrF1scKC72sv8

More than 50 years since the first White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health, the U.S. has yet to end hunger and is facing an urgent, nutrition-related health crisis—the rising prevalence of diet-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and certain cancers. The ...