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Executive Director's Update
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Today, Tuesday June 6th, we are opening our Centreville Client Choice Food Pantry. Thanks to several key supporters, and all of you who have donated during our Spring Fundraiser campaign and throughout the fiscal year, we are able to take this giant step to serve more families in western Fairfax County.
Since March we have experienced 14-16% increases (year-over-year) in clients using our Chantilly Client Choice Food Pantry. We know that reduction in SNAP benefits, increased costs of groceries due to inflation, and continued underemployment are causing families to seek our services and we are thankful that we are able to meet these growing needs through partnerships with local county government, businesses, congregations, and individuals like you.
Operating two Client Choice Food Pantries makes food more accessible for food insecure families on a sustainable/stable basis. Accessibility and stability are two of the four pillars of food security (along with availability and utilization). As we strive to mitigate food insecurity, we can only continue to expand our programs and services to reach more families through the power of collective impact. That is, working with local partners to meet the needs of community members that need and qualify for WFCM's services. This is the reason we say that only "together we can do it!"
Thank you for choosing to partner with us to ensure our neighbors have access to fresh, healthy food!
Thank you and God bless,
Harmonie Taddeo, Executive Director
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May 2023 Service Update
In May, we served 100 new families at the Centreville Regional Library providing eggs, fresh fruit/vegetables, and items such as cereal to provide healthy breakfast options while distributing information about our new Client Choice Food Pantry within walking distance of this parking lot distribution and the homes of many of those picking up food. We scheduled 50 of these families for appointments June 6-8 at the Centreville Pantry and look forward to their first visit selecting food of their choice including meat, dairy, bread, baking/cooking ingredients, fresh fruit/vegetables, and canned goods.
We served 546 clients in the Chantilly Client Choice Food Pantry versus 471 in May 2022 for an increase of 14%. We spent considerable grant funds purchasing fresh food this month for our pantry locations as well as the Free Food Fridge program providing special food for the end of the school year including deli meat, cheese, and individual pizzas.
A new allotment of funding (from federal ARPA program) through the county will provide higher levels of financial assistance beginning in July. We are thankful for our partnership with Fairfax County Government to provide this funding to local families in need of higher levels of rent support to avoid eviction.
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What's New in the Food Pantry and Client Services with Pamela Montesinos
Director of Client Operations & Programs
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We are excited to open the Centreville Client Choice Food Pantry in June with the ability to serve up to 250 client households per month! The proximity to many neighborhoods in Centreville makes it convenient for clients to walk and avoid paying for transportation to pick up groceries. Though this second location is smaller than the Chantilly pantry, it is stocked with all the essentials including toiletries and we will be focused on client feedback to ensure the most-desired items are available.
On June 10th, we will hold a School's Out Food Distribution to provide extra food for students as the school year concludes. We are happy to have Food Access Program grant funds from Fairfax County Government to provide this supplemental food at this critical time of need.
Thank you to all who supported the Feed Fairfax 5k! It was a great day to walk/run to raise funds and awareness for WFCM and Food For Others. We received $20,000 for our Free Food Fridge Program which will serve 600+ students weekly providing fresh, healthy food in refrigerators at 12 FCPS locations during school year 2023/2024.
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We are happy to welcome Angel Ortiz and Alejandra Hurtado to the WFCM Team! Angel will serve as the full-time Centreville Client Choice Food Pantry Manager. Alejandra will serve as the full-time Centreville Client Intake Coordinator. Both Angel and Alejandra trained with our Chantilly team members during the month of May and are eager to greet and serve new clients at the Centreville location this month! | |
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Most needed items in the food pantry this month:
- Fruit Cocktail (no sugar added)
- Canned Pineapple (no sugar added)
- Canned Pears (no sugar added)
- Canned Mandarin Oranges (no sugar added)
- Bottled Juice (family size, plastic bottles)
- Jelly
- Pasta Sauce
- Boxed Pasta and Canned Pasta
- Cake Mix and Brownie Mix
- Black Beans, Garbanzo Beans, and Great Northern Beans
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Toiletries: bar soap, body wash, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste (NOTE: we are not currently in need of diapers size 0-4 due to our partnership with Greater DC Diaper Bank. Please only donate larger size pull ups size 4T/5T for toddlers, size 5 or 6 diapers, or baby wipes if you want to donate items for babies.)
As a reminder, we accept food and toiletry donations Monday - Friday 8-10 am at 4511 Daly Drive Suite H (Back Door) and on the second Saturday monthly 9-11 am.
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Community Connections
with Diane Beatley
Sr. Manager, Community Engagement
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Partner Spotlight: First Column IT
Thank you to Chris Pool, Kevin Pool, and the whole team at First Column IT for their support of WFCM’s mission through their annual sponsorship. The dedicated team at First Column IT focuses on furnishing complete technology solutions throughout the Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland area. They construct advanced cybersecurity, managed IT support, IT consulting, and compliance management solutions for those who depend on technology to provide exceptional service to their clients.
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THANK YOU for making the
Centreville Client Choice Food Pantry
a reality!
A true community effort, the opening of the client choice food pantry in Centreville would not have been possible without the support of our donors, partners, and friends.
With gratitude, we thank these key partners who made it possible for WFCM to open this Client Choice Food Pantry in Centreville on June 6, 2023:
- Centreville Presbyterian Church
- Centreville United Methodist Church
- Christ Central Presbyterian Church
- Moxley Family Foundation
- Elden and Allyn Sodowsky
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Wegmans Food Markets
With thanks, we recognize these partners for providing Capacity and Food Access Program grants:
- Capital Area Food Bank
- Fairfax County Government
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Thank you for making our 5th Annual Golf Tournament a Success
We appreciate the sponsors, golfers, donors, supporters, and volunteers who joined WFCM's staff for the 5th Annual Spring into Action Golf Tournament held Monday, May 22 at Chantilly National Golf and Country Club. It was a beautiful day to raise funds and awareness of WFCM’s work.
Check out the video and make plans to join us on Monday, May 13, 2024, for the 6th Annual Golf Tournament!
Thank you to this year's Tournament Sponsors
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Save the Date for WFCM’s Annual Fall FUNdraiser!
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Chantilly National Golf & Country Club
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Enjoy appetizers, a gourmet garden buffet, & dessert while participating in our Online Auction. Learn more at wfcmva.org/fall-fundraiser.
Thank you to Event Sponsor Keener Insurance Agency!
Interested in one of the other signature sponsorships? Contact me to discuss the opportunities at dbeatley@wfcmva.org.
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