Chew On This
Tucked away in the back of the school administration building on James Madison Highway in Palmyra, you’ll find the Fluvanna Leaders for Race & Diversity (FLRD) food pantry. One of just two pantries in Fluvanna County, and a member of our Food Bank network, the pantry offers free groceries to anyone who needs them. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests can fill their bags with fresh, healthy food. But they leave with more than that. A visit to the pantry also feeds the spirit, thanks to the volunteers, who greet guests warmly, offer hugs, or simply crack a joke, turning a simple pantry visit into a moment of real connection.
The driving force behind the pantry is Director Loretta Morgan. There’s nothing the Fluvanna County native wouldn’t do for her guests, her volunteers, or her community.
And why?
“I just want to help people,” she said.
A spark in COVID times
That guiding principle has carried her through on a journey helping neighbors who struggle with food insecurity, which began in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, the retired University of Virginia engineer attended a vaccine drive in Charlottesville and noticed that each participant received a care package. When she learned that the packages came from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, something clicked.
“I decided to take on a similar drive in Fluvanna,” she said. So, she reached out to the Food Bank and requested care packages for her community. She distributed them locally, never imagining that this small act would lead her into a life of full-time, hunger-relief work.
A short time after the drive, the Food Bank came back to Loretta with a question that would set her on a new path entirely: Would she consider starting a food pantry to help her neighbors living with food insecurity?
“You could say that sparked something in me,” she recalled.
Finding a location took years, but in August 2024, Fluvanna Leaders for Race & Diversity (FLRD) officially opened their food pantry.
A pantry with a powerful reach
The FLRD pantry is a USDA, pantry meaning much of the food Loretta and her volunteers distribute comes from the federal government. That designation comes with a major advantage, Loretta explained.
“It means that the food in our pantry is available not just to residents of Fluvanna, but to anyone who needs it. That’s why I see people from other counties as well.”
By the Numbers
From their opening through June 2025, the pantry recorded a total of 4,077 guest visits, made by 830 unique guests. Those guests represented 362 households. The total amount of food distributed by FLRD during that time was nearly 57,000 pounds.
Guests reap the benefits
Well before the 10 o’clock hour when the pantry opens its doors, guests line up in the corridor. They find a comfortable chair, chat with other guests or volunteers. It is clear to many that the FLRD food pantry offers sustenance for body and soul.
That was certainly the case for Patricia who, on the day we met her, drove an hour from Buckingham County to visit the Fluvanna pantry.
“I feel lonely sometimes,” she shared. “I have some family in Buckingham, and one good friend, but I do get lonely. I like the food I get here, but I also come for the people and for the connection.”
Susan, a 69‑year‑old senior navigating multiple health challenges, found the FLRD pantry just weeks before we caught up with her, and said it has already changed her life. While SNAP and the pantry help her access the nutritious food she needs for conditions like Crohn’s disease and high blood pressure, what she values most is the judgment‑free community she’s found. After a difficult year marked by health setbacks and financial strain, the pantry offers her not just support, but connection and hope. Caring for her friend’s dog, Babe, and visiting the pantry keep her going, giving her a place where she feels seen and valued.
A rocky beginning
The pantry’s early days were rocky. The original location in Palmyra fell through when the landlord unexpectedly ended the lease. The pantry was still in its infancy, and suddenly without a home.
Lorretta scrambled to find a solution. With the help of the Fluvanna County School Board and the superintendent, she secured a new space in the annex behind the county administration building on James Madison Highway.
“I am very grateful to the school board and the superintendent,” she said. “Thanks to them, we are able to carry on this work.”
But that space comes with limitations, too.
“When schools are closed, we have to be closed as well,” she explained. “And on weekends, when I’d like to be in the pantry, I can’t because the building is closed. So, I’m grateful, very grateful, but would love to find a way to offer more.”
A vision for what Fluvanna deserves
More than anything, Lorretta dreams of expanding the pantry into something larger—a space that offers not just food, but other support services.
“There’s so much more I would like to offer,” she said. “Besides food, I’d like to offer clothing, and I want to partner with the nonprofit All Blessings Flow, so they have room to offer their medical equipment. But I need room to do that.”
She recently visited Goochland Cares, a long-established nonprofit offering wrap-around services, and came away inspired.
“That’s what I would like to do,” Loretta said. “I would love to have something similar in size and in services, because Fluvanna could really benefit from it.”
And in true “Lorretta” fashion, she already has the perfect location in mind.
“There’s a vacant restaurant not too far from here,” she said. “I would love to have it. We could do so much good from that location, especially with social services close by.”
“When I look back on the two years running the food pantry, only one feeling creeps up on me. I wish I had done this much sooner.”
A pantry filled with love, joy, and purpose
Until that dream becomes a reality, Lorretta continues pouring her energy into the pantry she has now. And it takes a lot of energy. She is the volunteer coordinator, main fundraiser, food purchaser, snow shoveler, van driver, shelf stocker, and administrative lead.
On distribution days, guests brighten when they see her. She jokes with volunteers, checks in with guests, and offers hugs freely. Her warmth fills the space. And so does her smile, which rarely fades. Loretta embodies what her work is about: providing guests with enough food to feed their bodies, while lifting their spirits.
“When I look back on the two years running the food pantry, only one feeling creeps up on me,” she said.
“I wish I had done this much sooner.”
Addressing food insecurity means more than providing meals—it’s about meeting people with dignity, respect, and care. At the Food Bank, we honor the dedication of Loretta and the volunteers at FLRD in helping their neighbors who are food insecure, and providing such a warm and welcoming atmosphere, indeed nourishment for body and soul. We are proud to call you our partners. From all of us at the Food Bank, thank you!
