In March, Farm Fresh announced that it planned to close or sell all of its 37 supermarkets in Hampton Roads, Virginia. It's impossible to overstate what kind of impact this had on the region. Hundreds of people lost their jobs, residents no longer had a place to shop, and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore saw one of its major suppliers disappear.
Despite all of that uncertainty, food insecure families in the area could at least count on the Mayflower Marathon. Now in its 22nd year, this food drive was held for 57 consecutive hours during the weekend before Thanksgiving. And for the past several years, our partners from Hampton Roads Moving & Storage have volunteered their time and trucks to help provide holiday meals for their neighbors in need.
"All the things we sometimes take for granted but families are so grateful for during the holiday season," said Ruth Jones Nichols, the CEO of the Food Bank of Southeast Virginia and Eastern Shore.
It was a record-setting year for the Mayflower Marathon and one of the largest deliveries ever by a member of the Move For Hunger network, but it will still only offer a temporary reprieve for the food bank. More than 166,000 people, including 1 in 7 children, still face hunger each and every day.
"Everything we receive from holiday contributions will be gone end of January, beginning of February," said Jones Nichols.
And this isn't a problem which is unique to Virginia. Food banks across the country will all see a steep decline in donations in the weeks and months ahead. That's why we need your support now more than ever!
So please, hold a food drive or make a donation and help us feed 3 million people in 2019!
