PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Mercy Chefs kicked off a summertime effort Wednesday to help fight child hunger in Hampton Roads.
The nonprofit launched its Feed 757 initiative with a backpack build and distribution event at Hodges Manor Elementary School in Portsmouth, featuring more than 130 volunteers filling backpacks with seven full meals each.
“One-in-five kids here in our community go to bed hungry at night, and that’s really unacceptable, and we have to do something about that,” said Gary LeBlanc, founder and CEO of Mercy Chefs.
The goal of the initiative is to help kids experiencing food insecurity during summer break.
“There’s something about the children right here in our backyard that we can’t look past,” LeBlanc said. “We have to take care of the children right here in coastal Virginia.”
Distribution events are scheduled in each city in Hampton Roads every Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. All people have to do is show up with a child to get a bag. Mercy Chefs expects to distribute more than 3,300 backpacks to children who might otherwise go without meals this summer.
Here is a list of upcoming events:
- July 2 — Diamond Springs Elementary School, Virginia Beach
- July 9 — Bay View Elementary School, Norfolk
- July 16 — Florence Bowser Elementary School, Suffolk
- July 23 — Lutrelle F. Palmer Elementary School, Newport News
- July 30 — Portlock Primary School, Chesapeake
Families who stopped by Wednesday’s distribution event were grateful for the help.
“It’s hard, prices [have gone] up in the store,” said grandparent Andrea Haskett. “Kids [are home] for the summer, they’re eating up everything. And this really helps. It really does. I’m between paychecks right now, so this is going to hold me over until then. That’s why I appreciate it so much.”
Dee Nierzwicki was one of many people who volunteered Wednesday to help pack the bags. She explained more about why she decided to help out.
“I can’t imagine a child going without food, and it breaks my heart to think that,” Nierzwicki said. “You can’t call it a community unless you’re giving. You can’t be taking. You have to be a part of it. You have to be integral, and otherwise it’s not a community,”
Feed 757 will wrap up with a community block party from 5 to 6 p.m. Aug. 6 in Portsmouth.
You can find more details about the initiative, as well as upcoming distribution event times and locations on the organization’s website here.