amount wouldn’t be enough forRuth to live on alone
and with a family of four, it’s simply impossible. That’s
why this struggling senior sits patiently inside her local
food pantry waiting for the brown paper grocery bag
filled with the necessities that will last her household
another week.

Unable to work and with only $53 a month in food
stamps,Ruth struggles to keep up with life’s necessities
by stretching her disability check as far as it will take
her. The disability check she receives at the beginning
of each month is carefully distributed for rent,
electricity, water, and sewer. What’s left isn’t enough
for groceries and that’s whyRuth is left sitting in this

Unfortunately,Ruth is not
alone in her struggle.
According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, nearly 10%
of individuals 65 or older
live below the poverty
level. Nationwide, it’s
estimated that nearly four
million seniors struggle in
poverty. Seniors who, like

President & CEO
p.4 - Staff Stories
p.6 - Hunger Horizon
p.7 - Granting Success

New Century Development
Co., LLC
Managing Member

Brown Edwards &
Company LLP
Assurance Services Partner

The beauty of Southwest Virginia in
the fall can be intoxicating. The
mountains burst with vibrant colors,
signaling the start of a new season.

It’s lost on very few that the rural
region of Virginia we call home offers
some of the most fantastic, awe
inspiring sceneries on the east coast,
especially in the autumn. But let us
not forget that living within the reds
and yellows of these beautiful
mountain landscapes are tens of
thousands of men, women and
children struggling with hunger.

It’s true the Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank serves
some of the most photo friendly
regions in the state, but it’s also true
that your Food Bank’s 26 county, 10
city service territory covers some of
the most impoverished regions
in the state.

As mother nature sheds her summer
green and braces for the cold season
ahead, let us remember the
working-poor families, elderly couples
and single parents that are also making
preparations for a long winter.

Struggling families that will have to
add expensive heating bills on top of
a mountain of bills. These families
will certainly need a helping hand
as temperatures plummet and thanks to
you, the Food Bank’s more than 340
partner agency feeding programs
will be there to help those in need
this winter.

The Southwestern Virginia
Second Harvest Food Bank is
happy to provide speakers for
an array of topics such as:

Understanding the Food Bank:
A guide to understanding the
process of the Food Bank and
a general overview of the
various programs offered.
From Kids Cafe and Backpack
programs, to safe food
handling and financial
planning, you may be surprised
at what’s happening at the
Food Bank.

Explore unique ways that
children and adults can
volunteer individually or
as a group.

Contact Harry VanGuilder by
phone at (540) 342-3011
ext.42, or by email at

Look for details about the Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank’s expansion efforts in the Spring edition
of our “Food for Thought” newsletter. We’ll have all the
details regarding the Food Bank’s staggering distribution
goals, growing programs and even a peak inside the new
Appalachian Distribution Center. Look for all that and more
in the next installment of the Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank’s “Food for Thought” newsletter!

The Southwestern Virginia Second
Harvest Food Bank’s annual Agency
Conference & Training’s are an
excellent opportunity to further connect
our partner agencies with the resources
and tools they need to better serve
the hungry. It is not enough to just feed
hungry individuals, the Food Bank and
its partner agencies constantly strive to
do more. To reach the underserved
areas of this region, to be prepared for
emergency food scenarios and to make

sure the hungry have every available
opportunity to overcome their
poverty status.

The trainings allow the Food Bank’s
partner agencies the chance to enhance
their soup kitchen, rescue mission or
food pantry through various sessions
including grant writing, public
relations, disaster training, children’s
nutrition, mobile pantries and
much more.