HAMPTON — Since the closing down of almost all Farm Fresh sites on the Peninsula, the Peninsula Foodbank has been struggling to make up for the donations the grocery chain brought in.
Farm Fresh was the foodbank’s third largest donor and without them the foodbank have lost about 113,000 pounds of food in the first two months of the 2019 fiscal year (which started in July), said Karen Joyner, CEO of the Peninsula Foodbank
The loss equates to about 94,000 meals, said Joyner.
While the remaining open Farm Fresh stores are still donating, other grocery store chains have stepped up in their donations so far this fiscal year.
Smithfield Foods and Food Lion have both increased their donations as well as Kroger which just added a second store in Hampton.
Between the two Krogers and the expanding Food Lion locations, there are more donations coming in but it still doesn’t make up for the loss of Farm Fresh, Joyner said.
She said Food Lion is still their largest donor.
A few ways the foodbank has tried to tackle the donation deficit is with unpaid advertising.
The foodbank doesn’t have the budget to pay for advertising so they rely on unpaid avenues to get the word out.
One big thing the foodbank needs is monetary donations, Joyner said.
Money goes a lot farther than food donations because the foodbank can purchase bulk items cheaper.
Another way they are going to handle the loss is to cut back on the amount of meals they serve.
One thing Joyner wants people to really think about is that being hungry is a year-round problem, not just one for the holidays.
She hopes donations will increase with the upcoming school year, but she’d like the community to be engaged all year in donating.
September is Hunger Action Month and the foodbank will be participating in several efforts to raise awareness and donations.
To donate or learn more about the Peninsula Foodbank, click here.
