In the process of adjusting Food Bank operations during this pandemic, creativity is playing a big role in how we are making vital functions work and sustaining important partnerships.
Two examples of the work being done to ensure food for vulnerable seniors illustrate the creativity and commitment of Food Bank staff and partners.
“After the governor announced the stay-at-home order on March 30, our seniors didn’t think anyone was going to come and bring food to them again. When they saw our drivers approach their doorsteps, they had the biggest smiles on their faces.”
–Jeri Schaff, executive director of Valley Program for Aging Services
Their smiles are the result of quick thinking and ingenuity.
Orders to slow the spread of the coronavirus shut down many gathering places, including the Valley Program for Aging Services’ (VPAS’s) Maury River Senior Center, which serves seniors in the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington, as well as Rockbridge County. The Food Bank’s senior nutrition Reach program operates from this location.
In response to the closure, Robin Swecker (the Food Bank’s partner services coordinator for the Shenandoah Valley) and Jeri Schaff (VPAS) came up with an alternative to face-to-face food distribution.
VPAS’s Meals on Wheels program now picks up 100 boxes of nonperishable food from the Food Bank once per month. These shelf-stable items provide the extra nutrition seniors need until their next delivery. Drivers make fewer trips, reducing contact and keeping themselves and recipients safe.
The new arrangement also expands coverage to seniors in Augusta and Rockingham counties, and the cities of Waynesboro, Staunton, and Harrisonburg.
“We are truly partnering in every sense of the word and could not keep meeting needs without their involvement.”
–Emily Foreman, manager of senior nutrition programs at JABA
Across the mountain in Charlottesville, the Jefferson Area Board for the Aging (JABA) faces similar challenges meeting needs of older adults who rely on their services, including food distribution.
Years ago, JABA began partnering with the Food Bank to deliver Senior Food Boxes to eligible individuals in the Charlottesville service area. JABA senior centers in Greene, Esmont, Charlottesville, Nelson, and Scottsville serve as distribution sites.
After closing their doors temporarily, JABA’s program directors and the Food Bank’s Melissa Wender put their heads together to devise new ways of connecting seniors with the food sources they depend on.
“The Food Bank worked with us to get food bags and Senior Food Boxes delivered to local staff and volunteers who could and did safely drop off the supplies on front porches of our members,” says Emily.
Specifically:
- In Nelson County: JAUNT donates transportation assistance by retrieving food from the Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry distribution in Arrington. The food is then delivered to seniors throughout Nelson County.
- In Esmont (Albemarle County): A similar plan involving JAUNT is under way.
- In Scottsville (Albemarle County): Seniors are either picking up their boxes or sending a proxy to bring back their boxes from the Scottsville Mobile Food Pantry. Drivers roll through, pop their trunk, and leave with food.
- In Charlottesville and Greene County: JABA managers are delivering food boxes themselves.
Melissa adds, “These food delivery alternatives represent a coming together of dedicated community partners and friends to solve problems and exercise flexibility.”
The Food Bank appreciates the spirit of collaboration and creativity between our staff members and partners to keep making a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors.