Blog

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of amazing and dedicated individuals have stepped up selflessly to ensure that their neighbors don’t go hungry amidst rising rates of unemployment and food insecurity. We spoke with Jan Augustine, a long-time CAFB donor who recently began to volunteer with us, to learn what motivates her to lend a helping hand for her neighbors in need.

As a veteran who has experienced homelessness and food insecurity, James Littlejohn understands what it means to keep persevering in tough circumstances. He also knows how important it is to connect people with the resources they need. And as a member of the Capital Area Food Bank’s 2020 Client Leadership Council, his goal is to use his unique perspective to advocate for more funding to go to resources that serve our society’s most vulnerable.

Vanessa Pierre has lived in White Oak, a neighborhood in Silver Spring, Maryland, for four years. In that short time, she’s made her mark advocating for access to healthy and affordable food — and the resources to grow it — in her community. She’s among the new members of the CAFB's Client Leadership Council (CLC), a group of like-minded individuals from across the food bank's service area taking part in a ten-month advocacy training program aimed at empowering them to serve as effective agents of change in their communities.

World Food Day is a day of collective global action focused on the promotion of worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure healthy diets for all. To highlight this critical issue through the art of poetry and storytelling, the Capital Area Food Bank partnered with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office for North America and Poetry X Hunger to host Virginia-based poet Aaron R as its first Poet in Residence during Hunger Action Month.

The CAFB Client Leadership Council brings together people with an array of perspectives and experiences from across the region, and seeks to empower members through a ten-month advocacy training program. We spoke with Odessa Davis, one of the CLC's newest members, to learn what inspires her to raise her voice for change

It's not always easy or efficient to collect canned goods and pantry staples from friends, family, and colleagues—especially with current restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But a growing number of our neighbors need your help to get the good food they need. When you host a digital food drive, you can engage your community from far and wide to help provide meals for thousands of people in our region.

Like so many people this past Spring, Tess Weinreich had her junior year of high school turned upside down when the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic caused classes to move online and extracurricular activities to be cancelled indefinitely. But rather than let these circumstances get her down, the rising senior rallies her community to help support her neighbors in need.

CAFB volunteer Rob Britton was on site for his 5th week volunteering in a row, with the city was still under lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. We spoke with him about what motivates him to spend his time helping neighbors in need.