Some Charlottesville grant money is making a big difference for needy families near Earlysville. One church's food pantry will be able to help the hungry twice as much with the much-needed financial boost.
The Buck Mountain Episcopal Church has been handing out food for a few years. Since then, the number of people needing their help has quadrupled. Almost $10,000 of grant money is now helping volunteers keep up.
Amanda Bennett has an income at $9.50 an hour, and four little girls. When you do the math, it's no wonder she needs a helping hand. "Without this, it'd be really tough on the kids and I. As a parent, it's hard to say, you know, I don't have something to feed you," she said.
Behind the scenes, the crew works quickly to pack boxes full of food, while veteran volunteer Marigail Wynne registers everyone in line relying on those boxes to get by. She said, "We feel like it's a big need in the community ,and we're really happy to be able to help."
Thanks to a nearly $10,000 grant from the Charlottesville-Area Community Foundation, the church bulked up its food supply and added a new night shift to the pantry's schedule each month - all to keep up with the growing need.
"We needed another fridge, we needed to get more shelves, we needed the ability to buy more food so we can meet the need," said Rev. Connie Clark with Buck Mountain Episcopal Church. "People are truly making choices about whether to buy their prescriptions, or their food, or their gas, or to pay for heat. We hear those choices are very real for many of our neighbors."
Bennett heads home to fill her own pantry, thankful for the ability to feed her family. "It made a difference. You've got to do what you've got to to survive," she said.
Clark stated, "That's why it's important. It's about people."
About 24 families came out for food Wednesday night. That adds up to more than 100 people. Typically, the church serves just under 400 folks every month through the pantry.
