Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
| Our mission | Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry’s mission is to give food with kindness and compassion to those from Charlottesville and surrounding communities seeking assistance while providing an opportunity for volunteers to serve their neighbors. |
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| Needs |
USDA Bag PackersPackers work assembly-line style to bag shelf-stable canned and dried goods. This is a perfect job for volunteers who want a bit of a workout! Fully loaded bags weigh approximately 15 pounds and are loaded onto our 3-shelf racks.Distribution VolunteersLoaves & Fishes distributes food to clients 4 times each week, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, Thursday evenings, and Saturday mornings. Distributions are done in the parking lot, with groceries delivered to clients in their cars.A small team of volunteers, called Cart Packers, work inside the warehouse to load grocery carts with food for each visiting household. The items loaded into the cart vary in weight from light (such as single cans and boxes of cereal) to moderate (such as gallons of milk or 10-pound bags of produce) to heavy (15–20-pound bags or boxes of commodities or produce). Volunteers lift items from all levels of our 3-shelf carts and pallets of varying heights so you will be both reaching high and bending low. Staff provides guidance on what food items and how much each household will receive (based on what we have available).Other volunteers, called Cart Runners, are used outside to deliver fully loaded grocery carts to clients’ cars in the parking lot. Fully loaded carts typically weigh between 150-175 pounds. Clients load their own groceries into their cars, but some may need assistance with heavy items.Preparing Food for ClientsPrior to clients receiving food during a distribution, all food must first be inspected, sorted, and packed. Pre-distribution jobs include:Produce Assistants – The pantry prides itself on providing healthy, colorful, and nutritious produce to its clients. Produce Assistants check all donated produce for quality and freshness and help to pack items into bags to be distributed to clients. This is a great job for individuals with a basic familiarity of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Bread Sorters – Loaves & Fishes receives thousands of pounds of bakery items each week. Bread Sorters follow specific guidelines to inspect for freshness, sort, and rack donated bread and bakery items. This is a great job for volunteers who enjoy organization and working within a well-defined system. Meat Sorters – Meat is one of the most appreciated food items received by our clients. Meat Sorters help us pack assorted frozen meat to ensure those that visit us get a variety of healthy proteins. |
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| How you help |
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| About us | Loaves & Fishes’ primary program is to rescue and redistribute food to people who cannot afford to buy it for themselves. In 2021 Loaves & Fishes distributed 2 million pounds of food, 29% of which was fresh produce, and another 39% was fresh dairy, bread and frozen meat, providing 10 days of food per visit to 52,548 individuals. |
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| What people say |
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