Community members are celebrating the expansion of a local food pantry program.
Action in Community Through Service (ACTS), a Dumfries-based non-profit, has opened its Hunger Prevention Center.
A ribbon cutting ceremony took place at the facility on Wednesday morning.
“It’s a wonderful accomplishment for ACTS,” ACTS Board President David Strand said. “I am so proud to be a member of the board, to see what ACTS does on a daily basis. I am continually impressed with the impact it has on Prince William County, the help it gives to 80,000 people a year in Prince William County.”
Visitors of the Hunger Prevention Center can pick up fresh produce, participate in a Health and Wellness Program, and receive “case management,” according to ACTS CEO Steven Liga.
“This center is going to be fabulous,” Liga said. “Not only the food that we distribute, [but also] the partnership that we have with our grocery stores, the new partnership that we have with Wegman’s — where we’re going to actually have clients trained by Wegman’s chefs — the huge expansion of our Hunger Prevention Center Home Delivery Service for homebound seniors.”
Many organizations have helped ACTS open the center.
The Hylton Foundation, for example, is underwriting the building’s mortgage and helped pay for construction and renovation costs.
Funding from Aetna Better Health and Safeway Foundation is allowing ACTS to purchase a refrigerated van.
“This is huge,” Liga said. “That means the seniors that get the groceries now get all the fresh produce, the frozen meats, and the dairy that they weren’t able to get before.”
The center is a resource for the community that is supported by the community.
“This is our Hunger Prevention Center, because each and every last one of you contributed in some way, and I thank you so very much,” Center Manager Philip Edney said. “And I’ll do my best to make you proud of us.”
