‘Food is freedom,’ New food pantry to open in Waynesboro

WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - The River City Bread Basket (RCBB) in Waynesboro will help provide fresh food for families suffering from food insecurity.

RCCB will serve Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) people in Waynesboro and other areas of the Valley. The food bank will work with volunteers and community partners to provide grocery quality food to people who can’t afford/travel to the nearest grocery story because of financial burdens.

Adrienne Young, executive director of The LIFEworks Project, said providing food for families help them succeed and climb out of food insecurity.

“Food is freedom. Food justice is going to lead people to having better lives,” Young said. “It’s not just food justice, it’s also food recovery. We are able to reclaim food that will end up in landfill or compost or animal feed and turn around that healthy food to families that need it.”

The LIFEworks Project works with many human rights issues in the Valley, doing what it can to give everybody the same access to resources. With RCBB, Young said community support was essential to make this project happen.

“It takes a village to lift people to the places they need and want to be,” Young said. “Nobody does it alone, nobody gets out of this world unscathed. We need each other and we are hoping that the River City Bread Basket will bring people together to do that uplift.”

Young said any acts of gratitude or kindness can leave a lasting impact on people, even if they do not express it.

“You never know what the smallest bits of kindness, the smallest bits of attention, the smallest bits of care that you give to someone,” Young said. “You never know how that is going to impact someone or the ripple effect it will have in someone’s life.”

RCBB will provide food and everything it can, but some items need community sponsors to help keep the shelves stocked. Young said organizations can donate and sponsor a shelf, providing extra resources to people in need in Waynesboro.

“There are all sorts of specific needs that can’t be met,” Young said. “There aren’t always condiments, food that is culturally appropriate is not always made at the ready, hygiene items are not always made at the ready.”

Young said people who are on the cusp of the poverty line will receive help at RCBB, even if they don’t receive government support.

“The harvest is plenty in Waynesboro but the harvest is plenty everywhere,” Young said. “In Waynesboro, I think 3700 people who live at or below the poverty level. We know there are many people who are just on the fringes who may not qualify for government benefit services. Those people need help to.”

The LIFEworks project is always looking for volunteers. You can find more information about the organization and the work it does on their website.

Young said volunteers will always help ruin the project, and battle food insecurity one step at a time.

“People hear about stories about hunger or disadvantage and they say to themselves ‘gosh I wish I knew what to do,’” Young said. “This is what you can do, this is a small way that you can help us with a bigger problem.”

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