SALEM, Va. – Lending a hand — that’s what Feeding Southwest Virginia did while they packed 40,000 pounds of apples.
“This opportunity just really tugged at my heart because 40,000 pounds of apples is a lot, and you want them to go out while they’re still fresh, so I wanted to help today to do that,” Susan Adams, a volunteer at Feeding Southwest Virginia said.
The CEO and president of Feeding Southwest Virginia told us that this donation is meaningful because the non-profit is experiencing an 8 percent decrease in donated food.
“The companies that donate to us are experiencing the high cost of their goods and transportation so that’s causing a lot of companies to decrease their donations to us,” Pamela Irvine, CEO and president of Feeding Southwest Virginia.
Feeding Southwest Virginia called this “the power of partnership.” Dozens of volunteers, thousands of apples, and netting to pack the produce donated by a local Roanoke business are all coming together to try and fight food insecurity in our community.
“You can just grab an apple and go, and we believe that providing nutritious food we’ll improve the health of our neighbors and the people that we serve,” Pamela Irvine, CEO and president of Feeding Southwest Virginia.
They told us apples are easy to transport to family’s homes and with produce getting more expensive, this donation will give people in need a healthy snack.
Volunteers were there Wednesday and will continue to bag apples Thursday to be sent out later this week.