Virginia Peninsula Food Bank outlines need, programs after $100,000 York County investment

The Virginia Peninsula Food Bank visited the York County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 16 to report a surge in local food insecurity and to describe how a recent $100,000 investment will be used to expand services in the county.

"We recently received a $100,000 investment in the food bank's work," Meghan Gregorian, communications and advocacy manager, told the board. She said the funding will support child-nutrition programs (including a weekend backpack program that packs 1,500 bags weekly), school produce markets, pop-up and mobile pantry distributions and job-and-life-skills culinary training.

Gregorian said Feeding America’s "Map the Meal Gap" data show roughly 70,000 people across the Peninsula are food insecure; in York County she said about 1,870 children face food insecurity, up from about 860 in 2023. She emphasized the food bank’s mix of donated, federally provided and purchased food; "every dollar we receive equates to about 3 meals," Gregorian said.

Board members asked how the food bank was affected by the federal SNAP disruption during the government shutdown and about annual scale. Gregorian attributed a 20–30% spike in demand during the recent SNAP disruption and estimated the food bank’s annual distribution and purchasing range at roughly $12–15 million (she said she would confirm exact budget figures). She identified protein (frozen turkeys and hams) and shelf-stable, high-fiber items as high-priority donations, and noted that the food bank has cold-storage capacity for frozen donations.

The presentation described several distribution channels that serve York County: six participating schools in the backpack program, monthly mobile pantry distributions in Yorktown and six local partner agencies (with a goal to grow the county network by two to three partner agencies per year). Gregorian also highlighted a food-rescue program that partners with grocery stores and restaurants and an industrial kitchen training program whose graduates have moved into food-service jobs and related businesses.

Supervisor comments emphasized safety for Adopt-a-Highway volunteers (the Youth Commission will clean Wind Neck Road) and thanked the food bank for its services and recent private donations. The board did not take formal action; staff and the food bank agreed to follow up with clarified budget numbers.

Next steps: the food bank will continue outreach in York County, and staff will confirm annual budget numbers and report back to the board.