VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There’s a new way to donate canned goods to the Foodbank without leaving your house: all you have to do put your non-perishable donations in a bag and leave them on the curb for pickup.
Virginia Beach resident and Foodbank volunteer Morgan Lucas is coordinating the curbside pickup.
“This past Saturday, I think we actually went to 20 houses to pick up donations so my living room is jam-packed with bags right now," Lucas said. “It’s diapers, it’s canned goods, it’s pasta, cereals... pretty much everything that is on the food banks list of acceptable donations.”
All of it is going to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
Officials there say over the past few weeks, because of COVID-19, demand has gone up, and donations have gone down. They’re seeing a lot of newcomers needing assistance, on top of the families they normally serve.
“It got me thinking about ways to encourage donations – both non-perishable and financial – while maintaining proper social distancing,” Lucas said. “You just place your donation by your mailbox on the driveway or on your porch, just let us know which one and we’ll pick it up. It’s as easy as that.”
The donations are picked up, contact-free, so you don’t have to leave your home if you want to help.
Lucas said she was inspired by restaurants and other businesses doing their own curbside deliveries and pickups.
“I saw curbside pickup was becoming a popular way for local businesses to fulfill orders and I figured that could easily be re-positioned for the food bank,” she said.
You can coordinate a curbside picking by contacting Cans To The Curb on their Instagram page.
You can also donate money on their fundraising web page.