Regional Food Bank Team Recognized as National "Summer Hunger Heroes"
Recognition from No Kid Hungry highlights staff and volunteers' work to expand summer meal service.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Last summer, the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank served more than 197,000 meals—a huge increase from the 9,500 served during the summer of 2019.
That expansion is due to the hard work of volunteers, partners, and staff members Carey Sealy and Curtis Dickerson—and for their efforts, they have been recognized by No Kid Hungry as national “Summer Hunger Heroes.”
“No Kid Hungry is proud to honor these outstanding individuals for their tireless work to ensure kids in rural communities receive summer meals and that families feel the economic relief afforded by Summer EBT benefits,” said Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia. “Thanks to their efforts, thousands of kids can count on healthy meals all summer, allowing them to return to school in the fall healthy and ready to learn.”
Sealy and Dickerson said they’ve been able to expand summer meal service in the Fredericksburg area through leaning into their strength—logistics—and tapping into a 2023 U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that permanently authorizes “non-congregate” meal delivery in rural communities.
Previously, summer meals had to be served in “congregate settings,” in which meals had to be eaten on site. With the “non-congregate” model, meals can be picked up in bulk and taken home.
This type of service is permitted in communities that are designated as “rural” by the USDA. Sealy said that each of the counties served by the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank has a “rural pocket” where the food bank can bring meals for families to pick up.
This summer, there are 12 summer meal sites—one in each jurisdiction every evening of the week. New sites this year include the Fredericksburg Field House in Spotsylvania, Meadow Event Park in Caroline, and the Smoot Library in King George.
Families can pick up a box of meals for the entire week—seven breakfasts and seven lunches. The boxes always contain fresh produce, which is “by far” everyone’s favorite, Sealy said.
“The only requirement is that you can not receive more than one box per week, so that is the only question we ask,” Sealy said. “We don’t ask their zip code or anything, because it doesn’t matter.”
The food bank team is also piloting a new program this year—Ship-to-Home, which delivers a box of 10 breakfasts and lunches directly to clients’ homes, three times a month.
Sealy and Dickerson learned about this option at a No Kid Hungry conference, and decided to try it out in the Fredericksburg region, focusing on Caroline County first. The pilot program is overseen by a volunteer who is employed in Caroline County Public Schools, Sealy said.
“So she has access to the kids who are really in need and do have transportation barriers [that prevent them from getting to the delivery sites],” Sealy said.
One hundred and eighty-three families in Caroline received their first box of meals earlier this month, she said, “and so far, it’s going really well.”
Thanks to these efforts, the regional food bank is on trend to serve more than 200,000 meals this summer, exceeding last summer’s total, Sealy said.
“This really is an award for the community, because it takes so much,” shes aid. “I want to acknowledge our staff and volunteers. It’s their award, too.”
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