Everyone Should Have Happy Holidays

The holiday season brings fun times with family and special gifts for friends. However, it won’t be as jolly of a time for some Charlottesville low-income locals this year due to rising costs for healthy food. There are ways that the community can help these low income families.

The Loaves and Fishes food shelter is a local corporation and one of the largest direct distributors of food assistance to low-income families in Charlottesville. A program called Feeding America’s Map: the Meal Gap project estimates 17,500 people in Charlottesville and Albemarle are “food insecure,” or suffer from lack of access to affordable, nutritious food.

The shelter accepts food donations, and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank accepts money donations. Special items such as diapers, baby food, and powder formula are also needed. Volunteer times are Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays; Thursday evenings 6:00-8:30, Wednesday afternoons 1:30-4:00pm, and Saturdays mornings 9:30am-1pm.

Margaret McNett Burruss, Executive Director of Loaves and Fishes says, “November is our busiest month every year, we expect this month we’ll serve 2,100 or more families.” Loaves and Fishes encourage the community this season to brighten the lives of those who are struggling to have a happy holiday.