Volunteers Come Together In Arlington To Meet Food Insecurity Challenge

There were eight vegetable bagging work stations located more than six feet apart in the Rock Spring United Church of Christ Carpenter Room on Monday morning. 1,025 pounds of vegetables have been bagged by volunteers since June 1 to meet the food insecurity challenge produced by the coronavirus pandemic. Donors drop off bags of kale and collards and radishes, supplemented by green beans, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers as the season changes.

Rebecca Halbe, Food Program Coordinator for Rock Spring United Church of Christ, holds up a five-pound cabbage donated by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church garden

According to the Arlington Connection, “Rebecca Halbe, Food Donation Coordinator working in conjunction with Virginia Cooperative Extension, says, “We greet the donors who never enter the building. We weigh the produce, record the donor name, type of produce and weight.” The produce goes to a table, and the volunteer takes the produce from that one table back to their bagging station.”

As per Arlington Connection, “Halbe says she has heard from several older volunteers that they are grateful because this is the first volunteer effort that hasn‘t turned them away due to their age. Safety precautions are important and volunteers are all required to wear a cap or other head covering, face mask, gloves and all are required to watch a food safety slide deck before they begin. So far the produce has been donated to Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, and the YMCA, who all have regular food distribution efforts.”