Frequently Asked Questions
A food bank is a non-profit that safely receives mass amounts of food, stores, inventories and distributes millions of pounds of food to local food programs, like a food pantry, shelter, or soup kitchen. Food banks come in all different sizes. Some are very large – some can be smaller. A Food Pantry is a smaller facility where hungry families can receive food. It’s the arms that reach out to that community in need. These facilities follow established food safety and food distribution guidelines that are established by the food bank, to include monthly reporting of the number of families helped, demographics, and pounds distributed. Supplied with food from a food bank, pantries feed hundreds of people per week! Because every community is different, there are many different types of pantries.
Click on the Find Food tab at the top of our Home page, a listing of monthly drive thru distributions will be displayed, along with a listing of the food pantries that you can reach out to for help. Key in your city/state, and a listing of partner agencies to reach out to for help is displayed. We recommend you call ahead of time to make sure they are open because their days/hours vary. If these resources do not meet your immediate emergency need, you may call the Foodbank at 757.596.7188 to make an appointment to pick up food.
If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, they may reach out to the Foodbank and/or it’s over 150 partner agencies for food assistance by clicking on the Need Food tab at the top of this page.
There are no requirements to receive donated food. The only requirement that is needed if someone qualifies for federal food assistance provided by the US Department of Agriculture. These two programs are The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Qualifications are based on annual income and the number of people living in the household. A Declaration of Income would have to be signed to receive federally funded food. The CSFP program is for qualified seniors over 60 years old.
Monetary donations go a long way because we can purchase our most needed items directly from a food distributor in bulk to support our partner agencies, our monthly drive-thru food distributions, Food for Kids Backpack and Kids Café programs. For every dollar donated, we can provide the equivalent of three meals.
The Foodbank is focused on providing healthy food for our neighbors reaching out for assistance. Monetary donations allow us to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, non-perishable canned goods, meats, and dairy products.
Donated food is also needed because those individuals who do not qualify for federal food assistance, have access to the donated food items that are distributed by our partner agencies.
96% of the resources donated to Virginia Peninsula Foodbank go directly to supporting programs that provide food assistance to children, seniors, families, and veterans. One dollar can equate to three meals for our greater Peninsula community.
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for 15 consecutive years. This distinction means that the Foodbank, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, outperformed most other charities in financial efficiency and effectiveness as well as accountability and transparency. A copy of our financial statements is available upon request from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Foodbank does not sell or trade donor names.
There are several ways to donate:
- You can make a monetary donation by donating online by clicking on the Donate button at the top of our website
- Mail a check to: 2401 Aluminum Avenue, Hampton, VA 23661
- By phone at 757.596.7188
- Employee Giving Program or the United Way
- Bill pay at your banking institution
- Stocks, IRA's, Retirement Plans
Yes, the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has made every effort to protect your information. We use industry-standard SSL encryption techniques and licenses to make sure that your credit card information, passwords and personal information travel securely over the internet. We have also installed an encryption engine on our database server so that your data is securely stored.
Yes. On the donation page there is a MONTHLY Donation Block. Click on this field and complete the information as needed. Once completely, a monthly donation will be applied to your credit card automatically.
Yes. Tribute gifts are a great way to honor someone for birthdays, holidays, memorials, anniversaries, weddings or just because.
Your personal information remains confidential and will not be shared, traded or sold by Virginia Peninsula Foodbank.
Yes, if you mail a donation to VAPFB, you will receive a thank you letter within two weeks which you can keep for your personal records. If you make an on-line donation, you will be provided a thank you letter at the time the donation is made.
We strive to provide nutritious healthy food. We usually provide non-perishable food items, a meat/chicken/pork, and any fresh produce if we have available, and non-perishable canned food items.
The Foodbank gets food from food drive collections, grocery stores, food manufacturers and distributors, and we also purchase food.
Virginia Peninsula Foodbank couldn’t fulfill its mission without the generosity from individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations, schools, colleges, civic groups and faith-based partners. It takes a community to nourish our community.
You may call 757.596.7188
Our address is 2401 Aluminum Avenue, Hampton, VA 23661
Click on the “Volunteer” tab at the top of the page. Follow the instructions to register and attend an orientation via the Volunteer Hub link.
To volunteer, you have to be at least 12 years old – 14 years old to volunteer with an adult. To volunteer on your own, you can be 15 years or older.
You may drop off food at the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, 2401 Aluminum Avenue, Hampton or at any one of our donations drop off locations that are listed on our website under Most Need Food/Drop Off Locations
You may visit our Get Involved Section, Ways to Give page to get started on collecting food and funds. You may also reach out to Community Engagement Coordinator at cbosco@hrfoodbank.org
We prefer high fiber, low sugar, and low sodium. Please no glass containers.
Canned meats (tuna, salmon, chicken, Spam, corned beef)
Canned fruits (in light syrup or in it's own juice)
Canned vegetables (string beans, butter beans, carrots, potatoes)
Hearty meaty soups
Spaghetti/pasta
Macaroni & cheese
Hot and cold cereal
Peanut butter
Jelly
Instant potatoes
Brown and White Rice
100% Fruit/Vegetable Juice
Healthy Snacks (Granola Bars)
Canned or dry beans (baked, pinto, black, kidney, garbanzo)
Baby food and formula
Other items:
Paper Products
Hygiene Items
The Culinary Training Program is a free 12-week course. An application can be found under the What We Do tab on our website. Complete the application and forward to jlinder@hrfoodbank.org
An application can be found under the What We Do – Agency Partnership section. There are certain times of the year that we may not accept applications. However, complete the application as soon as you can, and forward to nsingleton@hrfoodbank.org.
Yes, IF the requesting organization is part of the Foodbank’s partner network AND we have sufficient food supplies. If neither condition is met, the response is No.
The Foodbank does not distribute frozen turkeys to the general public or to organizations outside of our partner network.
Yes, on a very limited basis. Homebound Neighbors seeking Emergency Food must answer pre-screening questions to determine their qualification for this service.
No, not at the Foodbank. Emergency Food is pre-packed and pre-determined by the food supplies we have available to distribute.