x
Breaking News
More () »

Mobile food pantry makes a stop at Norfolk apartment complex

It set up shop in an area that lost its local grocery store two years ago.
Credit: Dana Smith

NORFOLK, Va. — A drive-up mobile food pantry made a stop in Norfolk on Saturday morning with enough food to feed hundreds of families.

Volunteers set up shop at the Banks of Berkley, an affordable housing community on the south side of Norfolk.

Property manager Wanda Ferguson said there’s a lot of need in the area and she wanted to help.

“Today we are giving enough food for 600 families. We have meat, vegetables, fruit, dry perishables, masks, hand sanitizer, the necessities that are needed," Ferguson said. “Strictly drive-through.”  

Organizers are hoping to fight hunger in the area which lost one of its only grocery stores a couple of years ago.

And locals say the coronavirus pandemic is only making things a lot harder.

“With this virus going around right now, we all need help," area resident Jessie Lee Jordan said. "And you’re right – we don’t have a grocery store which they should be trying to rectify right now, I don’t know why it’s now."

Ferguson helped organize the food pantry. She went beyond her job description, teaming up with the Foodbank and dozens of local volunteers to make sure her residents and people who live in the surrounding area, have something to eat.

“The need has really increased," Ferguson said. “Being a majority of a lot of seniors is on the south side here in Berkley, it’s hard for them to get to the store to get the necessary food they need on the daily. Just everyday stuff that there’s no way for them to get it on this side.”

She said it’s something she’s going to do on a monthly basis. She hosted a similar event, last month.

“This is God’s blessing right here," Jordan said, "For each and every individual that comes and attends.”

The food pantry runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

Before You Leave, Check This Out