Richmond Public Schools held its Holiday Harvest Distribution on Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, where volunteers assembled meal boxes to support families facing food insecurity during the school division’s winter break. 

RPS partnered with local food organizations — Feed More, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting hunger and Lulus Local Food, a low-cost e-commerce platform for farmers to sell produce to customers — to feed about 400 families within the community. 

The volunteers included a mix of RPS community members, faculty and administrators. Some were seen at one end of the cafeteria sorting bulk pantry items, such as instant rice, canned yams, tuna packets and stuffing mix. Another group sifted through fresh produce, including collard greens, watermelons, yams and potatoes. Volunteers also organized proteins like ham and chicken. The remaining items were used to create meal boxes, each serving approximately four to six people. 

Although the cluttered boxes and volunteers rushing to distribute meals to the lined cars might seemed chaotic to some, Feed More’s Chief Collaboration and Programs Officer David Waidelich, described it as “strategically” organized. ute meals to the lined cars might seem chaotic 

“They are actually doing a wonderful job with organizing and coordinating a lot of the effort,” Waidelich said. 

RPS Director of Culture, Climate and Student Services Angela Jones volunteered for the Holiday Harvest Distribution because she wanted students in need to have food for their winter break. 

“Children are getting ready to go into two weeks of no school, which is super exciting for some and it’s super stressful for others,” she said. “We wanted to ensure that families had an opportunity to really get some good food in their homes.” 

The Federation of Virginia Food Banks reported that 11.1% of the Commonwealth’s population is food insecure, especially in the rural Southwest region. According to Feeding America, a nationwide organization working toward ending hunger in the U.S., food insecurity often affects rural communities due to a lack of transportation and underemployment. In addition, the Federation of Virginia Food Banks reported that 13.6% of children in Virginia experience food insecurity. 

Waidelich explained that urban communities such as Richmond are food insecure due to higher poverty rates and increased grocery costs. 

“Food insecurity is an issue here in Richmond. We’ve got about one in nine individuals that suffer from food insecurity and about one in six kids, and it’s increased over the last few years,” he said. “I think particularly during the holiday season, it’s so heartwarming to see the community rally together to help their neighbors in need.” 

 Iliana Davis volunteers at the Holiday Harvest Food Distribution event packing bags of food in the cafeteria of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School on Dec. 21.
 Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond /Free Press