How you can help local food pantries bracing for increased need

What’s Happening?

More than 800,000 Virginians, including 10,006 residents  of Rockingham County and Harrisonburg rely on federal SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families each month.

As of Nov. 1, those benefits are no longer available.

State Action

A new temporary program, Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance, will pull funds from Virginia’s revenue surplus to provide relief. The payments will be weekly rather than monthly.

Local Action

Area food pantries are already experiencing record demand because of a confluence of factors, including rising grocery costs and other costs of living. Recently, other food assistance programs have been cut, paused, or cancelled, including The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Local Food Purchase Assistance program.

We are deeply grateful to the nonprofit organizations stepping up to make sure families impacted by the SNAP benefit pause have access to food and other essential resources.

To Locate a Food Pantry

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank hosts a directory of local food pantries.

211Virginia also has a directory. Use these resources to find food or explore ways to help pantries in your area.

The local directory Rockburg Feeds is an initiative of the Food Coalition of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, in partnership with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and Sentara RMH Medical Center.

TCFHR’s HR Food Pantry Endowment

We encourage donors to consider giving to our Harrisonburg-Rockingham Food Pantry Endowed Fund, which provides an annual distribution to a local food pantry. Food pantries benefit from USDA food and from donated food, but cash contributions help to purchase additional food to meet client demand.  In 2025, funds went to The Corner Cupboard at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Read WMRA coverage of how The Corner Cupboard used this grant here.

CLICK to give to the HR Food Pantry Endowment.

Give to Local Pantries

Here is more information from the food pantries who responded by our deadline with information about donations and volunteer opportunities. There are many more local food pantries: find a listing at 211Virginia or use the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s Food Finder.

All of these food pantries receive USDA food and purchase other food from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, receive donations, and cultivate other sources, such as unsold food from grocery stores or local businesses.

• Patchwork Pantry is currently feeding between 65-70 families each week, with more anticipated. They also purchase and provide food for the backpack program at Waterman Elementary School, supporting an additional 60 families.

Monetary donations are the most helpful as this provides more flexibility in purchasing the most needed items. If organizations want to do a donation drive, contact the pantry first. We ask that at least 70 of a needed item, so we can offer it to all of our guests that evening. Hygiene items are particularly costly to purchase, so we often encourage an organization to donate 70 of an item like toothpaste, shampoo, diapers, etc.  Smaller donations (about one shopping cart or less) can typically be dropped off on Wednesdays between 9-11 a.m.

Delivery of larger donations (more than one shopping cart) must be arranged with the donation coordinator and can be arranged by emailing patchworkpantry@gmail.com. 

• Blessed Sacrament has seen a 20 percent increase in clients.

Monetary donations are always appreciated, as we can make a dollar go further than an average consumer. We will accept items like peanut butter, jelly, canned fruit and vegetables, cereal, pasta products, pasta sauce, canned soup. Hygiene products are also very desirable. Diapers are also a high demand item. All donated items may be taken to our pantry at 2 East Wolfe Street Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and Friday from 9-11:30 a.m..

•  The Corner Cupboard at Emmanuel Episcopal Church has seen numbers of clients increase each month of 2025. and are far ahead of their usual numbers of total pounds distributed.

Monetary donations are helpful, as the pantry has to purchase most of its food and protein is especially costly. Other donations are welcome: especially canned meat or fish, healthy breakfast cereals, cans of fruit, bags of rice, and peanut butter. We do not accept expired canned goods. Bring donations to the pantry Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m.-noon or to the church office Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m. -2 p.m. Checks can be made out to Emmanuel Church and designated in the memo line for the food pantry.

Strong volunteers are also needed for about 30 minutes to help unload supplies on the first Thursday of the month at noon and third Wednesday, also at noon.

• Salvation Army – Harrisonburg Corps serves approximately 170 families a month and 627 individuals with food from Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, donations from the general public and from local restaurants and businesses.

We accept donations of shelf-stable food that is in date Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It can be brought to our office at 185 Ashby Ave in Harrisonburg.