After the largest food drive of the year, Virginia food banks are still struggling to ensure Virginians in need are fed as the holiday season approaches.

The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore and the Food Bank of Albemarle, North Carolina, held their annual food drive over the weekend when people could drop off donations. According to Peninsula Foodbank CEO Bob Latvis, the event garnered more than 1 million meals across all three locations, more than 250,000 of which were donated to the Peninsula.

Latvis said the drive was a much-needed boost for a community that has seen a spike in food insecurity this year.

“We see a greater need at the holiday period and then going into winter,” Latvis said. “The need goes up as the weather gets cooler.”

Food bank staff are still finalizing data, but Latvis said there has been a 15-30% increase in people needing food assistance statewide this year. He pointed to inflation and cuts to the U.S. Agriculture Department as causes, but added the government shutdown “exponentially increased that.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency last month to prevent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds from lapsing amid the shutdown. Part of that emergency plan included a $1 million investment in Virginia’s food banks, $66,000 of which was allocated to the Peninsula Foodbank.

The shutdown ended Nov. 12, and SNAP funding was restored. However, Latvis said the food bank has not seen that state money and doesn’t know its status. In the meantime, the government reopening hasn’t solved a growing strain on the system that began long before the shutdown and was amplified by the reconciliation bill Trump signed into law earlier this year, which limited SNAP eligibility.

“SNAP is back, it’s been reimplemented by the government opening up again, but that’s pending new work requirements, new age requirements, possibly reenrolling,” Latvis said.

He said it only adds to the region’s food insecurity when people don’t know where their benefits are coming from.

“We can’t say business as usual, because there is no business as usual anymore,” Latvis said. “Not knowing the rules of engagement on your own eligibility just puts another level of anxiety on folks who are in a vulnerable population already.”

In the meantime, Latvis said people tend to be more compassionate and communal during the holiday season, which often results in greater donations to the food bank. While Virginia food banks wait for more government support, community is the best resource to make sure no one goes hungry throughout the entire year, he said.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the tremendous giving that we’ve seen this holiday season,” Latvis said. “But please remember this is a yearlong struggle for our neighbors that are facing food insecurity.”

Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/11/27/virginia-food-banks-donations/