The Shadow
Abingdon, VA. (VR) – On Sep. 8, Congressman Morgan Griffith will visit one of our Kid’s Feeding sites.
Congressman Morgan Griffith is interested in learning more about food insecurity throughout our 26-county and nine-city service region. Our Founder and CEO, Pamela Irvine, will accompany him as they discuss ways to serve our neighbors struggling with hunger in Southwest Virginia.
Feeding Southwest Virginia is thankful for the established relationship with Congressman Morgan Griffith. He was an advocate on our behalf to extend a waiver to allow for non congregant meal service for children. In doing this, he helped serve our neighbors in rural areas by allowing us to do a grab-and-go system to serve more children.
“These efforts by Congressman Morgan Griffith have helped us tremendously,” said Founder and CEO Pamela Irvine. “We are hopeful we will have a full permanent exemption in CNR as we move forward serving our neighbors.”
The Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) is the process Congress uses to update child nutrition programs like our Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Summer Food Service Program serves children at risk of hunger during the summer months when they don’t have access to free and reduced-price school meals. Through CNR, Congress can strengthen child nutrition programs, and this will improve children’s health, nutrition, and well-being here in Southwest Virginia.
According to Feeding Southwest Virginia’s data from 2021 compared to 2022, 11 Summer Food Service Programs were discontinued in our Abingdon service region due to the waiver no longer being in effect. Feeding Southwest Virginia faces many challenges as we continue to advocate with elected officials to help nourish neighbors in Southwest Virginia.
