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Virginia Peninsula Foodbank sees increase in demand

Foodbank CEO Karen Joyner said the foodbank has seen a 35% increase in demand from July to November compared to that same time last year.

HAMPTON, Va. — More people are in need of food for the holidays this year, according to Bobby Scarborough with Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church in Gloucester County. So, it can be hard to get enough supplies.

"The biggest problem you have is getting the food," Scarborough explained. "I mean it goes out as quick as it comes in.”

Scarborough picks up food from the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank for his church’s distribution events every month. He said church volunteers have noticed a concerning trend.

“In the last three months, things have about doubled,” he said. 

Karen Joyner, the CEO of the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, is noticing the same pattern.

“We and our partner agencies are serving 35% more from July to November than we served in July through November of 2022,” Joyner said.

The need continues to grow. Produce along with several boxes just came into the warehouse Monday morning, with Joyner expecting much of it to be gone within a week.

Luckily, the foodbank received a big boost in donations thanks to the annual Mayflower Marathon last month.

“We were actually the benefits of about 255,000 of the 756,000 meals that came in,” Joyner said. “That in the end ended up being in about a 10% increase over last year.”

However, with the increased demand, she doesn’t think those donated items will last until the end of January.

“Once this food is gone, we will return to buying food so that we can make sure the people in need have assistance,” Joyner said.

She hopes more donations flow into the warehouse before the year ends.

“Be serious about it when you bring stuff and bring stuff that’s good to use,” Scarborough said.

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