HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – As the holidays approach, local food banks are gearing up to put meals on the tables for families in need.

“Hunger is a quiet crisis in our community, it happens in every zip code in the Blue Ridge,” Les Sinclair, communications and PR manager for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB) said. “As we enter into the food holidays when food is abundant for many of us, for a lot of folks who are living on the margins it’s not quite as abundant.”

Sinclair said BRAFB has seen more people now than during the pandemic.

“Recently one of our months we saw 150,000 people plus pass through the programs and partner pantries doors of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank,” Sinclair said.

There are donation bins across the Valley for people to donate food items.

However, with a monetary donation, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank can make a dollar stretch farther.

“We’re able to provide four meals for a single dollar so where someone might go out and purchase a can of food that costs a dollar or more, we can help provide four meals with that,” Sinclair said.

Tuesday, Smithfield Foods donated more than 40,000 pounds of protein to BRAFB as part of the Commonwealth Clash, sponsorship of the UVA versus Virginia Tech game this weekend.

All in hopes to put food on the tables of as many people in the Valley and southwest Virginia as possible this holiday season.

“The cost of living is just incredible, childcare costs more, medicines cost more, food costs more, gas costs more housing costs more and with everything costing more people have to try and figure out where to cut and that normally starts at the food budget and that turns to places like the blue ridge area food bank,” Sinclair said.

To donate or learn more about where you can get food this holiday season visit the BRAFB website.

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