Ask Sen. Deeds to support the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFAP)

Ask Senator Deeds to support the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program

If you are a constituent of Senator Creigh Deeds in Albemarle, Amherst, Charlottesville, or Nelson counties, we’re asking that you reach out to the Senator and encourage him to support the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program.

Send an email to Senator Deeds, before March 8, by clicking the orange button, or copy and paste the text below the phone script into an email and send it to Senator Deeds at senatordeeds@senate.virginia.gov.

Email Senator Deeds – Click here to begin

Text for the letter is below the phone script.

Would you prefer to phone Senator Dees? Call (804) 698-7511, using this phone script:

“Hello, this message is for Senator Deeds.

I’m a constituent calling on behalf of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which supports families living with hunger in your district.

We need your help to keep the additional funding for the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program in the final budget. It’s Item 84 #1h.

For the first time, Feeding America’s ‘Map the Meal Gap’ study found more than 1 million Virginians experiencing food insecurity.

Pantries are overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with the need. Statewide, food pantry visits are up, and food banks are spending more money on food.

HR1 was the largest cut to Federal nutrition programs in U.S. history. It has pushed more people to rely on emergency food, making the Food Bank’s work even tougher.

More than $10 million in food support was cut by the USDA last year, weakening an already fragile supply chain. This year, federal food commodities have dropped by 25%.

But you can help make a difference.

The Virginia House of Delegates has added $4 million more for the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program in FY27. This funding will help local growers affected by the federal cuts and strengthen our regional food system.

I’m asking you to please support including this funding in the final budget report so we can ensure all of our neighbors have access to the most nutritious, high-quality food available.

Healthy food is fundamental to thriving communities.”

Dear Senator Deeds,

I’m a constituent reaching out on behalf of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which supports families living with hunger in your district. We need your help to keep the additional funding for the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program in the final budget (Item 84 #1h).

This is important because more than 1 million Virginians are experiencing food insecurity, as shown in Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study.

Pantries are overwhelmed and struggling to keep up with the need. Statewide, pantry visits are up 20% on average since 2024. Food banks are spending 4 times more money on purchased food than they did in 2019, because of declining food donations, higher prices, and greater demand.

Need is at historic levels. One in nine people in the Blue Ridge is food insecure. Last year, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and its partners served more than 170,000 people per month on average.

HR1 was the largest cut to Federal nutrition programs in U.S. history. It has pushed more people to rely on emergency food assistance.

More than $10 million in food support was cut by the USDA last year, weakening an already fragile supply chain. This year, federal food commodities have dropped 25%.

But you can help make a difference.

The Virginia House of Delegates has added $4 million to the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Program in FY27. This funding will help local growers affected by the federal cuts and strengthen our regional food system for our fellow Virginians.

I’m asking you to please support including this funding in the final budget report so we can ensure all of our neighbors have access to the most nutritious, high-quality food available.

Healthy food is fundamental to thriving communities.

Thank you,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR TOWN]

Not sure if you’re a constituent of Senator Deeds? Visit Who’s My Legislator to find out.

Thank you for taking action this week to help make sure everyone has enough to eat.