Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) has received a $50,000 grant from the Bank of America to support their initiative providing food to Prince William’s hungry.
According to a release, one in 15 Northern Virginia residents is at risk of hunger, and NVFS provides food access to more than 6,000 low-income individuals that are hungry in the Prince William area.
This issue with hunger in the community is apparent in statistics for the Prince William area school systems.
“Between 40 to 60 percent of students in the county’s three school districts receive free and reduced-price meals,” stated a release.
Each year, NVFS’ programs help to “collect and distribute 1.6 million pounds of food to more than 1,800 unique families, and provide 70,000 meals to residents of its SERVE Emergency Shelter,” and the $50,000 from the Bank of America will help them continue to provide food access to those in need.
“This grant will help our Anti-Hunger programs maintain crucial food-access services, help families increase their monthly food budgets through SNAP enrollment, and educate families on the importance of making healthier food choices to help prevent diabetes and obesity. We appreciate Bank of America’s generous support and look forward our continued partnership in the fight against poverty,” stated NVFS President and CEO Stephanie Berkowitz in a release.
More on NVFS’ Anti-Hunger programs, from a release:
NVFS’ Anti-Hunger programs include emergency food assistance, Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Outreach and nutrition education to provide families with the immediate resources they need, as well as more sustainable financial and health benefits. NVFS operates a Hunger Resource Center through its SERVE campus, which also serves as a Capital Area Food Bank Produce Hub supporting five local non-profits that would otherwise not have access to a reliable supply of fresh fruits and vegetables for their low-income clients.
