The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Bryn Dotson, staff writer

Charlottesville has a population of 46 thousand. It is a booming community with many mouths to feed. Hunger is a reality in our community that many may not know about. According to the Loaves & Fishes website, the food insecurity rate—meaning the number of people in Charlottesville and surrounding counties that do not know if they will have enough food for their families—is as high as 17 percent.

While this is an extremely high percentage, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry is doing the best that they can to eradicate the hunger in our local community.

The food pantry was originally run out of a closet in an elementary school in an afterschool classroom, where it distributed foods like rice and oatmeal on weekends.

In 2015, the pantry purchased and moved to a warehouse in Greenbrier. The shift from the classroom closet to a large building enabled the pantry to distribute not only dry foods but also fresh foods like meat and bread.

Jane Mills, the executive director of the pantry, explained that Loaves & Fishes is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization. People volunteer for a variety of reasons such as school requirements or court ordered time.

Mills stated, “Everyone who volunteers here has, I would say without a doubt, an open heart. They want to be able to help other people.” This altruism is incredibly supportive of the pantry’s mission, which is stated on the Loaves & Fishes website as, “Give food with kindness to give back to the community.”

Mills stated that the pantry could not run without its volunteers. Despite having many willing volunteers, the pantry is always in need of more. Two committed groups from UVA volunteer at the pantry, but when spring and summer break take place, the pantry loses many of its local volunteers.

People interested in volunteering at the pantry, you can visit the Loaves & Fishes website at www.cvilleloavesandfishes.org/index.php and find the “Volunteer Now!” link.