Our Story

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and its charitable food assistance network of partners serve guests living with hunger across 25 counties and 8 cities on either side of the Blue Ridge. The Food Bank operates out of distribution centers located in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester and Verona (our headquarters).

With the help of more than 400 pantry and program partners, we provide nutritious food to well over 100,000 people each month. Our partners include pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, schools, community centers, health clinics, and more.

We are a partner food bank of Feeding America, a national organization supporting more than 200 food banks across the country, and the largest domestic hunger relief agency in the U.S. Along with the other six food banks in Virginia, we are a member of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.

See our latest fact sheet for details on hunger in the Blue Ridge and the impact of our generous community.

Our MISSION is to improve food security through equitable access to good nutrition and the resources that support health and well-being.

Our VISION is nourishing food and good health—for everyone, every day.

Our CORE BELIEFS are that hunger is unacceptable; that everyone deserves access to enough food; that food sustains life and nourishes health; and that we are called to serve without judgment.

Together, we can make life better for the children, seniors, families and hard-working individuals in central and western Virginia who cannot afford all the food they need to live active, healthy lives. To achieve our vision of “nourishing food and good health—for everyone, every day,” we center guests in our work. As of 2023, our key strategic priorities are:

  • Eliminate disparities in access to nutritious food
  • Improve health of guests
  • Support household financial stability

Read more here.

This Food Bank was  founded in 1981 in Staunton, VA by a 5-member board, including the man who would become the first Executive Director, Phil Grasty. By the end of the first year, the Food Bank distributed 233,000 pounds of food to the hungry through 202 member agencies in 18 counties along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At that point in time, our work was considered a “major experiment in food banking” because of the rural nature of our service area.

As the need for emergency food assistance grew in other areas of the Blue Ridge region, the Food Bank expanded and relocated to a new facility in Verona, VA, now the headquarters of the organization. Three other branches were established in Charlottesville, Winchester and Lynchburg between 1982 and 1985. Read more about our 40 years of feeding hope.

Our Service Area

Albemarle County
Amherst County
Appomattox County
Augusta County
Bath County
Bedford County*
Buckingham County
Buena Vista City

Campbell County
Charlottesville City
Clarke County
Culpeper County
Fauquier County
Fluvanna County
Frederick County
Greene County

Harrisonburg City
Highland County
Lexington City
Loudoun County
Lynchburg City
Madison County
Nelson County
Orange County*

Page County
Rappahannock County
Rockbridge County
Rockingham County
Shenandoah County
Staunton City
Warren County
Waynesboro City
Winchester City

* These locations are shared with another food bank.