HYBLA VALLEY, VA — When you look around your community, it’s easy to see the effects the coronavirus has had on our way of life. What’s less visible is the number of people who are now worrying about having enough to eat.
Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, says coronavirus-related economic crises could push the number of food insecure Americans to 54 million by year’s end.
That’s 17 million more Americans than who were food insecure before the pandemic. For some, it’s a matter of running short on grocery money before the week is out and eating a lot of boxed pasta and rice dishes.
For others, food insecurity means real hunger.
In Fairfax County, about 61,710 were considered food insecure before the pandemic, according to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” interactive study.
Job loss and other economic crises associated with the coronavirus could push the rate of food insecurity in Fairfax County to 10.5 percent by the end of the year.
Feeding America, whose 200 member food banks include the Capitol Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., reports both higher demand for services and more need for volunteer and donor support.
Some of food pantries and other services available in the Route 1 corridor of Fairfax County are:
- Food pantry by United Community Ministries, Inc., 7511 Fordson Road, Alexandria, VA 22306
- SHARE Food Network of Virginia by Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington, 7511 Fordson Road, Alexandria, VA 22306
- Food pantry and mobile food pantry by ICNA Relief – Virginia, 2913 Woodlawn Trail, Alexandria, VA 22306
- Food pantry by Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 7730 Fordson Road, Alexandria, VA 22306
- Food pantry by Bethlehem Baptist Church, 7836 Fordson Rd, Alexandria, VA 22306
- Groveton’s Food Pantry by Groveton Baptist Church, 6511 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22306
- FAME Food Pantry by First A.M.E Church of Alexandria, 8653 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309
- Emergency food and food pantry by Church of Christ at Mt. Vernon, 8607 Jeff Todd Way, Alexandria, VA 22309
Article Courtesy: news.yahoo.com
