Blog

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.

As many of us explore the first phrases of re-opening and move forward in a new world, the food bank is laying the groundwork to meet the needs of our neighbors - both those we were serving previously and those who are newly food insecure in the wake of the pandemic.

When our neighbors need food assistance for themselves or a loved one, the Hunger Lifeline is often the first number they call. Since COVID-19 began to fundamentally shift the world around us, the number of calls coming through this line have tripled – and show no signs of slowing down. Take an inside look behind the scenes.