Funviralpark Chesterfield, Virginia (WWBT) – A week after the Chesterfield Food Bank canceled food distribution due to freezing temperatures, volunteers resumed their work on Friday to distribute food to families in need. I was.
In the morning, volunteers were preparing for the special distribution in the parking lot by setting up a parking lot and shopping carts for volunteers to help with distribution.
Nicholas Jenkins, assistant executive director of the Chesterfield Food Bank Outreach Center, said the decision to cancel last week’s food distribution was made to keep volunteers and clients safe. It hurts my heart.
“It hurt us. It hurt us and the team to have to be put in a situation where we had to make decisions like that,” Jenkins said. “Friday nights made it a little harder to sleep knowing that the person who was supposed to receive the food wouldn’t be able to eat it.”
Jenkins said this motivated him to come up with another delivery date of December 30th.
“That was the motivation for us to regroup quickly and have a plan for today this Friday to hopefully get to those people,” Jenkins said. “This is what we do. We are here to serve our communities, love our communities, and meet basic needs that are otherwise not met.”
The Chesterfield Food Bank estimates it will distribute over 700 carts full of food. Jenkins estimates that each cart holds groceries for his family of four from his four days to his seven days.
According to Jenkins, this demand increases during the holiday season.
“We are living in a time of smiles and joy, but also a time of stress, with external pressures to enable people who are already struggling to do what they may not be able to do financially. For us, this time is heightened not only in the food we distribute, but also in the way we take care of our clients,” he said.
A mission focused on fighting hunger and empowering lives, Jenkins said with the support of the community, it can be done.
“While we are working to build programs to help people free themselves from their need for assistance, we will continue to support food drives and monetary donations so that we can meet and continue to meet that need. We rely on the community for generous donations,” Jenkins said.
The Chesterfield Food Bank said people can choose to donate money, time, food, or all of the above to support their efforts.
Copyright 2022 WWBT. all rights reserved.
