Fairfax County Supervisor Walter Alcorn presented a proclamation to Food for Neighbors today to honor their 10th anniversary.
He joined this food pantry’s founder Karen Joseph, along with more than 100 volunteers, as they collected and sorted donations at Luther Jackson Middle School in Falls Church.
“I want to thank Karen because Karen is not somebody that likes to bring attention to herself,” Alcorn said as he presented the official recognition from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “She is just a get-it done type of person. Thank you, Karen!”
Feeding Food-Insecure Middle and High School Students
Food for Neighbors provides meals for middle and high school students on weekends and holidays, collecting food through its signature Red Bag Program. It began a decade ago serving just 60 families at Herndon Middle and Herndon High School.
This nonprofit was born when Reston resident Karen Joseph served as PTA president at her son’s middle school. While there were groups to support elementary school students without enough to eat, she realized a gap existed to help middle and high schoolers.
Today, Food for Neighbors serves more than 12,000 students at 60 schools across four public school districts: Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun Counties and the City of Falls Church. In Fairfax County, the pantry supports 40 schools.
Alcorn reflected on the continuing challenge of food insecurity a decade later.
“Ten years ago when this got started, I was PTSA president at Herndon High School, and Herndon Middle School was the initial focus,” he said of the pantry’s beginning efforts. “Those needs still continue today.”
Roughly 76,000 Fairfax County public school students qualify for free and reduced-price meals. This makes up more than the total number of students in Loudoun County’s public schools.
Collecting 6,000 Pounds of Food Today
Today’s Red Bag Day collection at Luther Jackson Middle School was among nine others across Northern Virginia. Volunteers at Luther Jackson sorted about 6,000 pounds of food and filled over 250 food bins that will be distributed to middle and high schools.
“Everybody who’s here today volunteering, it really shows what we as community can do, Alcorn said. “I want to thank you so much.”
Five times during the school year, Food for Neighbors collects food and toiletries from more than 3,400 registered donors who put food into the organization’s Red Bags, leaving them at their front doors. The group’s volunteers pick them up, sort the donations, and deliver it to local schools the same day.
