By Heather Michon
Correspondent
This spring, the Fluvanna Food Pantry at Carysbrook had a paid staff of five through the federally-funded Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).
In June, directors learned that these employees were being placed on leave as the funding was halted and put under review.
They were told the pause would last a week. Maybe two.
“They never came back,” said Austyn Sunday, of the Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MAACA). “We’ve had no news about whether they’re coming back. We’re just operating as if they aren’t.”
The blow is twofold: not only have the older adults who relied on the program for training and income lost their positions, but the pantry has also lost the core workers it has long relied on to keep the organization running smoothly…at a moment when demand for services is rising.
Now, Sunday and Food Pantry Director Dominique Miller are reaching out to the public in hopes of building a pool of volunteers to help them maintain a steady pace of operation.
Demand increasing
High food prices are hitting everyone–including people who never thought they might need to visit a food pantry.
Food insecurity is “not a poverty thing,” Miller stresses. “It’s a need for a moment in time.”
They have no income restrictions, and anyone in need of assistance is welcome. “We’re here for everyone in the county,” she says.
Miller says when she started, they might serve two families a day. Sometimes none at all.
Now, they are seeing seven to ten families a day, “and some of them are very large families, like five to seven members in the household.”
Partnerships with local stores, such as EW Thomas and Food Lion, area farms, food drives, and other donations help keep the shelves stocked.
Asked what they need most, Miller and Sunday did not hesitate: cash donations are most appreciated.
With that money, the pantry can purchase not just more fresh produce, meat, and perishables, but also items like diapers, toiletries, and pet food—things that rarely appear in donation bins but are always in high demand.
Volunteers needed
What would volunteering with the Fluvanna Food Pantry look like?
Much of the work involves sorting donations, weighing and packing food by family size, assisting guests at the front desk, making pickups, and entering data. The pantry even supplies a vehicle for pickups. Some lifting is required.
Volunteers would also help pack about 50 weekly food backpacks for children at Central and Carysbrook Elementary. This program is open to children who are currently not living in their own physical home. “Even if they’re in someone else’s home, they’re considered homeless,” says Miller.
The pantry also assembles holiday boxes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, complete with the makings for full, traditional meals for an entire family, and helps ensure that children under 13 have some toys under the tree.
The Thrift Store, which shares a space with the food pantry, could also use volunteers to help sort donations and add some Saturday open hours.
The volunteer program is still evolving. Sunday said she is working on setting up an online platform that will help with onboarding new volunteers and provide a centralized location for everyone to sign up for open shifts.
The food pantry is open on weekdays from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers are needed for shifts of two hours or more, starting before opening and ending a little after.
Reach out
With no end to the funding crunch in sight and more families needing help, the message is simple:
If you can give, now’s the time.
And if you need help, don’t wait.
For information on volunteering or making a donation, visit https://www.macaa.org/foodpantry
