Food pantries continue to see an increase in need - WHSV

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ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, Va. (WHSV) - The last year has brought both changes and challenges to many local food pantries.

The need to address hunger continues to grow and Shenandoah Valley pantries have been working to adapt and rise to the occasion.

At Lacey Spring Community Food Pantry, the lines for food continue to grow.

“We’re seeing new families that are coming through here. I think we signed up maybe four, five new families last Monday,” Kay Kibler, with the food pantry, said.

Pantries like Lacey Spring had to create new means of getting food to the community when people couldn’t physically come inside.

For Kibler, it has been hard not being able to chat with families who come by because for her it’s not solely about food, but also community.

“We like joking with the families and finding out their what their struggles are as well, so we kind of miss that part of this,” Kibler said.

Hope Distributed, another food pantry in Rockingham County, helps share donations with Lacey Spring if they ever need more for a certain day.

In 2020, Hope Distributed gave out 1.3 million pounds of food, and saw a 14% increase in clients.

Their hope is to continue growing.

“I think we’re going to grow. I think just seeing the growth that we saw through the pandemic that we’ve seen needs that weren’t asked for or were not being met until the pandemic hit,” Ellen Braun, Pantry Administrator and Volunteer Coordinator, said.

Jeff Wilhelm, the executive director at Hope Distributed, said the year has brought many lessons learned and one of the biggest ones is that a diverse group can really make a difference.

“We all come back from different backgrounds, different stories, different everything, but as long as we have one focus, one goal in mind we can achieve anything,” Wilhelm said.

Both of these pantries have been lucky to have enough volunteers to match the need for food, but unfortunately that is not the case for every pantry.

“A lot of our regular volunteers that have been with us for years have not come back. They’re waiting until they get their vaccines,” Lois Shaffer, Director of the Luray Food Pantry, said.

The Luray Food Pantry has seen their need more than double, and Shaffer hopes people will still pay attention to the need for food in the community after the pandemic.

“People seem to forget that people are hungry 365 days out of the year, not just the pandemic and holidays,” Shaffer said.

Copyright 2021 WHSV. All rights reserved.

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