Healthy Harvest Food Bank, Inc.

Our mission is to provide hope in the communities we serve through the right food and education. Our vision is to create healthy, self-sufficient and thriving communities. Our goals are simple and systemic. Increase the nutritional value of food provided to recipients by increasing produce as a greater percentage of food and reducing the reliance on heavily processed food sources; develop further awareness throughout the region of the need that exists and the available access to nutritional food sources; increase participation in the Farm to School program throughout the region, addressing the issue of generational poverty to create long-term systemic change. The Northern Neck Food Bank began in the back of a pickup truck in 2008, assisting area pantries with the transport of food from Central Virginia Food Bank in Richmond to the Northern Neck. In 2010 the Northern Neck Food Bank became a 501(c)3 organization and began officially working with Feed More/Central Virginia Food Bank as an RDO (Re-distribution Organization) representing the four counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Middlesex and serving 700 people through 4 pantries. The mission, to advocate for Northern Neck pantries by providing low-cost nutritious food, storage, transportation, and distribution. In 2012, distribution increased 45% to 2,500 people, 11 pantries and 696,000 pounds of food. This proved to be a pivotal point for the organization. After implementing an online database connecting the pantries to the food bank distribution center, a survey of clients found that over a third of households served had a member with Type I or II diabetes. The organization shifted its focus, and nutrition became the key to implementing the Agricultural Program, a partnership with local farmers to glean and harvest crops, which quickly became the food bank’s signature program. In 2013, recognizing unmet need in the region, the operation expanded and moved to centrally located Warsaw, Virginia. In 2014, the distribution area increased to include Essex and Westmoreland counties, and 1.2 million pounds of food was distributed locally. The next two years brought additional growth, new programs and a total distribution of 1.7 million pounds of food to over 8,700 people each month through 27 pantries. In 2017, a record 2.1 million pounds of food was distributed to 12,274 individuals through 28 pantries. Based on the success and recognition of the Northern Neck Food Bank’s goal of providing healthier food options, the mission changed at the beginning of 2017: “To provide hope in the communities we serve through the right food and education.” The organization rebranded with a new name that did not limit them to the local region served but encompassed what they do in terms of providing healthier food options. In early 2018 the Northern Neck Food Bank became Healthy Harvest Food Bank. Today Healthy Harvest Food Bank serves 12,008 individuals each month through 36 partner agencies in the Northern Neck and Upper Middle Peninsula regions. We believe that we can do more, and partnerships are vital to the success of new programs. We currently work with Bay Aging to provide fresh produce as a supplement to the meals on wheels program that serves the elderly and with Rappahannock Community College as they work to address the issue of food insecurity among 2-year college students through a food pantry for students and staff at the Warsaw, Glenns and Kilmarnock campus locations and partner with the Animal Welfare League to provide pet food to pantry recipients with pets in the household.

Healthy Harvest Food Bank offers comprehensive hunger solutions that target the region’s most vulnerable neighbors. Serving six counties in Virginia’s Northern Neck and Upper Middle Peninsula as the only organization of its kind in the region, the food bank is committed to increasing its capacity to meet future demand, offer educational programs to children as well as clients with health-related dietary issues and increase the nutritional value of food provided locally and across the state of Virginia. The concept is simply people helping people with 94% of the organization’s operating expenses going directly to feeding those in need through its programs and services. The organization is dedicated to being at the center of change for generations to come so that they can continue to do more for those who need it most. The food bank of the future will focus on the overall health of recipients and empower them through educational programs with the goal of leading them to self-sufficiency, reducing their long-term dependency on the core food distribution program. The food bank team knows the faces of hunger in the region are children who require adequate nutrition to succeed in school and grow to their potential; seniors on a limited budget; and families challenged by economic circumstances. One in eight neighbors in need struggle with food insecurity, making the services offered at the food bank critical for every struggling family, child and senior who deserves access to healthy, nutritious food. Healthy Harvest Food Bank distributes over 2.2 million pounds of food annually to 12,008 individuals monthly through 36 partner agencies in Essex, Lancaster, Northumberland, Middlesex, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties through the following programs. Core Feeding Program The core program and basis of the operation consists of delivering food to pantries throughout the distribution area. The food bank provides a minimum of 40% produce, 40% non-perishable, 10% meat and 10% bakery/dairy food items. This equals 20 pounds, equivalent to 5 days of food for each client. Agricultural Program The agricultural program is a partnership with local farmers to grow produce and assure access to produce fields for gleaning and harvesting. At the end of FY25 the total amount of fresh produce distributed totaled 518,742 pounds. The program impacts over 60,000 individuals each year through distribution of fresh produce, increased locally to an average of 50% for each client, the highest percentage of fresh produce distributed in the state of Virginia. Volunteers glean and harvest every Saturday from June through December each year and weekdays during the summer. Fresh produce in excess of what is distributed locally is distributed throughout Central, Western and Southeastern Virginia, including the Eastern Shore. Senior Program The senior program is a supplemental food program for seniors 60 and above at 125% of the poverty level. Each month the food bank provides one healthy food supplement to qualified seniors through two Lancaster County pantries and one Middlesex County pantry. Residents who meet the criteria receive this food in addition to any foods they receive under their local Food Pantry and U.S.D.A. programs. Backpack Buddies Backpack Buddies is a weekend meal program for at-risk children. The food bank provides students in need six “child friendly” meals each Friday for the weekend in 21 schools throughout the region. Healthy Food Farmacy This program began as a collaboration between Healthy Harvest Food Bank, Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic and Virginia Cooperative Extension and has since expanded through the Grow Fresh Eat Fresh adult programming at Healthy Harvest Fresh. The program targets individuals who struggle with obesity, diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypertension, and other health related issues. The goal is to transform patient wellness by offering fresh produce, nutrition education, and hands-on cooking classes to teach them healthy eating and living as a way of combating these issues. Healthy Harvest Fresh Healthy Harvest Fresh is an educational center and aquaponics production facility for the purpose of growing premium quality vegetables and fish and educating individuals on the importance of fresh food and sustainable agriculture. The program provides healthy produce to those in need, local schools and farm markets while teaching hands-on learning to students in innovative agriculture and other STEM courses. Healthy Harvest Fresh will have a multi-layered impact on the community in collaboration with local school systems as the regional Farm to School educational program grows, benefiting over 8,500 students in our service area. Fresh will offer students the opportunity to engage in on-site experiential learning that will scaffold and reinforce instruction in science, math, health, and nutrition, as well as improve literacy in sustainable agriculture through relevant and realistic applications of those concepts; while also serving as a potential vendor to provide fresh, nutrient dense, locally grown produce for their food service programs. Grow Fresh Eat Fresh adult programs include Healthy Food Farmacy courses offered to individuals and pantry recipients with nutrition related illness, teaching eating for wellness practices and providing food and support for nutritional lifestyle changes and workshops in food preservation techniques. Much of the product grown in the facility is allocated to Healthy Harvest Food Bank to be distributed to food pantry recipients. Data supports the fact that the vast majority of those who struggle with food insecurity also suffer from nutrition-related illnesses. The fresh, healthy produce harvested contains a much greater nutrient content than harvested, processed, and shipped fruits and vegetables as nutrient levels begin to immediately decrease post-harvest. Delivered fresh and locally, the recipients of these products will reap tremendous health benefits simply from the timely accessibility.