NCS was one of several Fairfax County organizations to support a collaborative food distribution event in the Sully District on June 15. Human Services Transportation provided Fastran buses for the four-hour drive-through event, which was organized by the Office of Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith and sponsored by the DeLune Corporation.
According to Daniel Dolan, Community Outreach and Events Aide for Supervisor Smith, “The COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of our neighbors and fellow citizens within Sully District at risk for a number of things, and hunger was one of them. It became apparent that we needed to do something to ensure that our neighbors were getting fed.”
He specifically thanked NCS staff for their role in making the event a success, noting they “provided so many pieces to this proverbial machine that allowed the families in Sully to receive quantities of food.”
With the assistance of seven Fastran buses, more than 60 volunteers distributed 2,000 boxes of USDA dairy products and 960 boxes filled with milk at seven Sully District locations. These included Westfield High School, FACETS Barros Circle Community Center, Centreville Regional Library, and several neighborhoods.
Glenn Padeway, Manager of Human Services Transportation for NCS, said, “The event was very successful. By going out in the community to satellite sites, I think many residents were reached who otherwise may not have been able to get to Westfield HS to obtain much-needed food.”
In total, 1,165 households each received four half-gallons of milk, plus a boxed dairy product. Food was also distributed to local churches and community-based organizations to take back to their own food pantries to distribute to clients.
In addition to NCS, organizations assisting in the event included Western Fairfax Christian Ministries, the county’s Community Emergency Response Team, and Food for Others. Volunteers were recruited from area churches as well as Capital Home Professionals, Wegmans, Northwest Federal Credit Union, and fire stations in Centreville, Vienna, Franconia, and Burke.
Harmonie Taddeo , Executive Director of Western Fairfax Christian Ministries, said, “Each team was willing to provide support in terms of personnel, resources, and ‘sweat equity’ to support our neighbors in need. We, at WFCM, were proud to be a part of it and hope to partner again with these organizations for future distributions.”
NCS Volunteer Program Supervisor Hadyn Kihm, who coordinated the event volunteers, said, “It was incredible to see how NCS staff, our community partners, and volunteers all came together to make the food distribution a success. It was really inspiring to me how Fairfax County residents take care of each other.”