CHESAPEAKE, Va. — With the help of Navy volunteers, a mobile food pantry in Chesapeake is serving community members in need amid rising grocery costs.
Every fourth Wednesday for the past seven years, the non-profit organization Buffalow Family and Friends Community Days has distributed free food from the BFF Community Pantry at Southgate Plaza Shopping Center.
Organizers say they’ve seen a recent increase in community interest from Virginians looking for relief from grocery store inflation.
“We’ve seen a rise in our numbers for the past couple of months," said co-founder and CEO Nischelle Buffalow. “We go into the grocery store, we know how it is.”
The mobile pantry is the product of a long-standing collaboration between the non-profit and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. Together, they work to address food insecurity throughout Hampton Roads.
On distribution days at the pantry, community members are invited to drive up with an open trunk or walk up to the pantry to receive free boxes of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy products, protein, and more.
“I think this is wonderful, a godsend,” said Portsmouth resident Shirley Williams. “I can’t afford to buy a lot of food; I’m on a fixed income. This is the way I make out.”