Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511220030
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Today, it is an independent program of the agency, meaning it is funded and managed independently of TAP's other operations, though it continues to operate under the TAP umbrella and adhere to TAP operating rules and procedures. The Food Bank board of governors reports to the TAP board of directors.
The agency employs 16 people full time. Its 30,000 square-food warehouse on Shenandoah Avenue Northwest has been donated to the agency for 10 years rent-free.
The organization has branch offices in Covington and Abingdon. It also is affiliated with independent ``subsidiary distribution organizations'' in Bland and Galax.
Institutions wishing to use the Food Bank's services must apply to become member agencies, agreeing to comply with agency procedures and regulations regarding distribution. They are targeted primarily toward feeding the poor, children and the elderly. Agencies include shelters, church food pantries, soup kitchens, group homes and Head Start programs.
Member agencies pay the food bank 14 cents or less per pound for most of the items available through the Food Bank.
Food Bank funding comes through ``shared maintenance fees'' of member agencies, food re-sale, grants, contributions, U.S. Department of Agriculture reimbursement and special fund-raising projects.
The annual ``Help for the Holidays'' drive is under way through Dec. 15, with major food collections for the operation. The drive began last weekend with collections by Valley Metro, Norfolk Southern and the Roanoke Valley Express hockey team. The year's biggest collection is the Letter Carriers' Food Drive each May, which this year brought in 180 tons of food throughout Southwest Virginia.
Individuals donating food are particularly encouraged to give peanut butter, canned fruit and meats.
The agency also operates other programs, including ``Virginia's Table,'' in which it picks up and redistributes surplus prepared foods from restaurants, hotels and delis, to agencies that can use them.
There also is the ``Food Plus'' bulk-food purchasing program in which individuals may purchase food packages at reduced rates. A Thanksgiving package, for instance, included a 3.5-pound ham, 5-pound turkey breast, pinto beans, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, stuffing mix, potatoes, onions, apples and eggs for $20.95.
The Food Bank staff calculates that each $1 in cash donations allows the agency to distribute $12.78 worth of food. This year, through September, the Food Bank has received almost $105,000 in corporate funding. It has also received about $22,000 in individual contributions - ``which we hope to double by the end of the year,'' Director Pamela Irvine said.
Since its creation, the Food Bank has distributed more than 20 million pounds of food. It expects to disburse more than 4 million pounds this year.
The operation is inspected for safety and health by the Virginia Department of Agriculture, Second Harvest National FoodBank Network, Federal Drug Administration, state and local health departments, and national donors, such as General Mills.
The agency last year began a ``39 Poets Against Hunger'' poetry competition to raise awareness in the region's academic communities.
The winning entries can be read on the agency's computerized World Wide Web Home Page at http://www.infi.net/~food. The computer information, potentially available to millions of computer users with a modem, also includes background information about the Food Bank and an e-mail address.
by CNB