A Northern Virginia church’s weekly food giveaway — open to anyone, no questions asked — that started during the COVID pandemic in 2020 is still going strong.
“We found out when we began it that the community really needed it, so we have been sustaining it since then,” said Rev. Joshua Speights of Neabsco Baptist Church in Woodbridge.
Every Tuesday evening, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the church loads donated groceries into the cars of anyone who arrives at its parking lot. In a typical week, 175 to 250 families avail themselves of the food, according to the church.
“Anyone that shows up is eligible — no registration, no reservations and no obligations,” said Michael Austin, coordinator of the program, which receives food from Northern Virginia Food Rescue and Action in Community Through Service of Dumfries. “Anyone who shows up with a need, we take care of that need, right away.”
The church’s food giveaway program also receives financial support from the Hylton Boys and Girls Club and the Dale City Moose Lodge.
Each Tuesday, before noon, approximately a dozen volunteers receive the food that will be distributed that evening and assemble packages that will be provided to anyone who shows up.
“That usually consists of a bag of non-perishables, a bag of whatever produce we might get, a bag of baked goods and a bag of meat,” Austin said.
Cars that queue in the church’s parking lot, located at 15557 Neabsco Church Way, are guided to the church’s loading dock, where volunteers load the groceries into the car.
Program volunteer Reginald Edge said the food offering is extended, whether or not a person has a car.
“In the past six months, we’ve have some community members who walk up with a basket, or we put food in their backpack,” said Edge. “I had one gentleman who rode up on his bicycle — we put the food in his basket,” and the man rode off.
If more than one family arrived in a rideshare vehicle, “We will make certain that each family group receives a donation of food before they leave,” said Austin.
The volunteers say community members are appreciative of the food and the kindness — as some reciprocate.
Edge said one man waited in parking lot line, and when volunteers began loading food into his car, “Instead of accepting the food, he opened his hand and provided a donation to support us in the process.”
Another woman in line handed over a $100 donation. When told no donations were needed to receive the food, Edge said, “Her response to me was ‘I know exactly what I’m doing. I am sowing a seed, just like you’re sowing the seed,'” with the ongoing food giveaway program.
Speights thanked the groups that provide the donated food and financial support, saying food insecurity can touch anyone. “It crosses all boundaries, all nationalities, all people,” he said.
“Sometimes people have come through the line when I’m there, in high-end cars, and you wonder why they’re in line,” said Speights. “But on the flip side, we say you never know what’s happening in a person’s home.”
Regardless of whether a community member’s food insecurity is temporary or long-lasting, “As we enter into the holiday season, especially, the families are going to need food.”
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