Summer Fund Drive benefiting pantries, food banks and more

VERONA, Va. (WVIR) - All week long, NBC29 is making sure no one goes to bed hungry. We’re raising money for our Summer Fund Drive with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

BRAFB supports both food banks and food pantries. A food bank is more of a center or distributor to its food pantries, which are where you can go and shop for food., however, it isn’t really about shopping, because it is free to those who need it.

“If you’re looking for food, I wouldn’t hold back thinking, ‘Oh, there’s somebody else who could use this more than I can. There’s not enough.’ There is enough, please, reach out and see what we can do for you,” Joe Kreiter said.

Kreiter is the partner engagement manager for BRAFB’s Thomas Jefferson Branch. The food bank is a large, wholesale operation centered in Verona. Pantries are smaller, and located all over the region.

“You can literally find pantries all over this geographic region, so it’s not just if you’re in Charlottesville,” he said.

Kreiter says they are seeing more people facing food insecurity in the Blue Ridge area, and he wants to help.

“Go to the pantry first, see what’s available there,” he said. “You’ll be better served in terms of more food and more variety. Many pantries are able to offer what we refer to as guest choice, where people are actually able to go and pick the items that they want.”

Donating to the Summer Fund Drive helps keep groceries free.

“Those funds can go to a variety of different places, but primarily it’s going to be to help us continue to purchase food, to make sure that we have everything,” Kreiter said. “We’re not receiving as many donations from our real retail partners, because there’s just kind of less available on the market for them to then donate out to us. So that’s where making a direct donation to a pantry, you know, looking to buy those items can be extremely helpful.”

If you want to donate, you can here. If you want to use the food finder tool, you can go visit Food Finder - Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (brafb.org)

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