With the need for food assistance on the rise, a local charity is aiming to collect 25,000 pounds of food every month this summer.
The Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project gathers food year-round from many of the diocesan schools in the area. On Thursday (July 10), kids participating in summer camp at Bishop Ireton High School filled a box truck with canned fruit, vegetables, rice, and more. More than 1,200 pounds of food were collected at Bishop Ireton.
“We’re serving 24% more clients than last year,” James McCaskey, an outreach specialist from Catholic Charities St Lucy Food Project, told ALXnow. “It increased from 2022, which was just under 300,000 total food insecure individuals… and now we’re at like 323,000 people.”
The food insecurity rate in Alexandria is on the rise. According to the City:
- 8% of households in Alexandria are food insecure and 9% of Alexandria residents are living with resources below the federal poverty line.
- 44% of individuals in Alexandria who are food insecure are not eligible for government assistance due to income.
The drive is part of the year-round organization’s “Summer for Hungry Children” campaign. This fall, the St. Lucy Food Project will conduct its Fall Harvest drive, aiming to collect up to 150,000 pounds of food.
More collections are scheduled for the coming days, and donations can also be made through the St. Lucy Food Project’s Amazon wishlist.
“It makes it a lot easier for people to donate remotely,” McCaskey said. “In the past year, we’ve received over 4,000 pounds just from Amazon wishlist donations.”
Donations can also be dropped off at the Catholic Charities Alexandria food pantry at 4527A Eisenhower Avenue. Non-expired and unopened food donations are accepted on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The nonprofit needs the following:
- Breakfast cereals (in box) and instant or old-fashioned oatmeal (18 oz. or 42 oz.)
- Peanut butter (16 oz.) and jelly (15 oz. or 18 oz.)
- Canned meat (chicken, spam, corned beef, chili)
- Canned vegetables (corn, green beans, sweet peas, 15 oz.)
- Red kidney, black beans, or baked beans (15 oz.)
- Pasta: spaghetti and pasta sauce in can
- Canned fruits (15 oz.)
- Macaroni and cheese (7.25 oz.)
- Soup: Chunky, Progresso, or noodle soup
- Chicken broth (15 oz.); cream of mushroom soup (10.5 oz.)
- Diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce (15 oz.)
- Bagged rice (white or brown)
- Sugar (white or brown)
- Canola or vegetable oil (48 oz.)
- Canned pineapple (8 oz.)
- Ramen noodles
- Single serving fruit juice
- Shelf stable milk, unsweetened: Almond or soy
- Canned yam, canned cranberry (15 oz.)
- Boxed stuffing and instant mashed potatoes
- Snacks, crackers, cookies, and granola bars
- Grocery gift cards from Giant or Aldi
In the meantime, ALIVE! is also trying to collect 40,000 pounds of food in Alexandria by July 30.
