Loaves & Fishes will be closed Tuesday, December 24,2024 through Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
Cooking Classes with Grocery Pick-up ~ Clases de Cocina con Recogida de Comestibles
Loaves & Fishes offers cooking classes on Fridays from 11 am-1 pm.
Openings are limited; please register by emailing lfcookingclasses@gmail.com or texting (434) 260-3528.
Seeking bilingual registration specialists, particularly those who speak Dari and Pashto or Arabic. Read job description here and apply here.
Mission
Loaves & Fishes provides nourishing food with respect and dignity to all who seek assistance, while offering robust opportunities for community engagement through volunteerism, partnerships, and nutrition education.
Tax ID 45-1498743
There are a number of ways to support our mission with donations, as well as goods and services, and easy giving programs.
How things work at Loaves & Fishes
We are working to strengthen our community by combatting hunger.
What kind of food will I get?
Loaves & Fishes is happy to provide groceries for you two times each month. Each time someone visits Loaves & Fishes, they will receive a grocery cart (about 100 pounds) of fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, pastries, and dessert, milk, eggs, frozen meat, and a variety of canned and dried fruits, canned vegetables, and other shelf-stable foods like oil, cereal, pasta, and rice.
What to expect when you visit.
Groceries are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis three days a week—no appointment is needed. Tuesday's grocery pickup is by appointment only.
We invite you to come to the Pantry, follow the parking instructions, stay in your car, and wait for your groceries to be delivered to your vehicle.
DRIVE THROUGH GROCERY PICKUP
Wednesdays: 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Thursdays: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Saturdays: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
BY ADVANCE APPOINTMENT ONLY
Tuesdays: 4:00 – 7:00 PM*
How to Support Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
Volunteer, Donate Money, Donate Food & Supplies, Purchase Loaves & Fishes Items
Loaves & Fishes relies on the support of 125 volunteers each week to help us inspect, sort, pack, and give out fresh produce, meat, bread, and shelf-stable commodity items. Shifts are offered six days each week and range in length from 90 minutes to four hours. Volunteers work alongside staff members, and training is provided at the start of each shift, so no prior experience is needed for any of our jobs.
People struggle with hunger right here in Charlottesville. Map the Meal Gap, a project of Feeding America, found that Charlottesville in 2022 had the highest level of food insecurity in our area, with one in 7 people (14.1%) unable to access enough healthy food each month, and child food insecurity at 17.3%.
27% of Charlottesville families live at or below the poverty level and cannot afford the essentials of life (food, shelter, clothing, utilities) and the costs of working (childcare, transit).
Tax ID 45-1498743
The food Loaves & Fishes gives out comes from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, local groceries, farmers, orchards, food distributors, food drives, and purchases from wholesale vendors. We accept donations of frozen meat, eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, and canned and dried foods. Click button below to see items we need.
More Information
Nutritionist Corner
Staff members and registered dietitians Monica Davis and Samantha Van Dyke help sort and select the best foods when assembling groceries for our guests. They provide recipes and tips on ways to store and prepare, the food we provide. Monica writes a monthly newsletter that is included in each visitor’s bags of food. Monica and Samantha offer nutrition education activities at the Pantry.
We have answers to the many questions regularly asked by clients, volunteers and supporters on our FAQ page. If you do not find an answer to your query, please get in touch with us using the email form below.
Thank you for your participation and support.
Welcome to Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
Food Distribution
How Things Work
Focus on Nutritious Food
UVA Volunteers at Loaves & Fishes
Contact Us
We would love to hear from you.
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
2050 Lambs Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901
434-996-7868
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United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Loaves & Fishes offers food from the US Department of Agriculture's Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Anyone whose total household income is 185% or less of the Federal Poverty Level can receive TEFAP food from Loaves & Fishes and other food pantries.
Any household receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid is eligible to receive TEFAP food at Loaves & Fishes.
Senior Food Box Program:
Senior Food Boxes contain food obtained from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) that is then packed by volunteers at the Food Bank, along with nutrition education and recipe cards. This is the USDA’s only program that specifically targets low-income seniors and is open to individuals aged 60 and over with incomes at or below the current 130% federal poverty guidelines.
Each month, qualified area seniors at least 60 years of age visiting Loaves & Fishes receive a 30-pound box of shelf-stable foods, such as milk, juice, cereal, rice or pasta, peanut butter, dry beans, canned meat, poultry, or fish, canned fruits and vegetables, and a two-pound block of cheese, in addition to the fresh and shelf-stable food we give all households.
Loaves & Fishes does not share any information regarding our clients with anyone other than what we are required to report annually to the USDA.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint Form and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992.
Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
- Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; - Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
- Email: program.intake@usda.gov.