Letter from the Executive Director
I cannot say “thank you” enough. Whether you are someone who donates money or personal time (or both!) or one of our sources of vital produce and protein, you help us provide nutritious food to every pantry visitor each time we give out food. You are a crucial part of the Loaves & Fishes’ team that provided nourishment to 100,000 people in 2023.
The level of need from community members is now higher than we have ever experienced, 90% higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased cost of groceries, coupled with the high cost of housing in Charlottesville, Albemarle and other surrounding counties, is forcing more people to seek our assistance while they try to keep a roof over their heads.
Your continued investment helps our food-insecure neighbors access healthy food. It allows Loaves & Fishes to purchase milk, eggs, and produce when donations from the food bank and grocery stores are not enough to provide 100+ pounds to every household that visits the pantry. With your partnership, Loaves & Fishes provides at least a week’s worth of fresh, healthy food for everyone in each household every time they visit.
Whether you give once, twice, four times, or twelve times a year (shout out to our “sustainer” donors who give monthly or quarterly to spread their support across the year), thank you so much for maintaining our important work. Please make your gift today to ensure that our food-insecure neighbors can continue to supplement their households with nutritious food.
If you would like to see what your support makes possible, come volunteer, call 434-996-7868, or email me to schedule a tour!
Jane Colony Mills, Executive Director
Letter from the Board Chair
Dear Loaves and Fishes Donors and Volunteers,
The pantry’s Board of Directors and staff members are sharing this Impact Report with you with immense gratitude for your generous contributions of funding and time. The 49% increase in the number of people the pantry served in 2023 vs. 2022 is striking to me, as is the fact that one-third of the households who came to the pantry in 2023 were first-timers.
The period from March 2020 to the present has been transformational for the pantry. Operational changes (such as the use of more paid staff) that were launched in 2020 to limit COVID-19 exposures in our warehouse are now proving to be a very efficient way to distribute food to hundreds of households who come to each of the four grocery distributions that occur each week. We are also highly reliant on a group of very dedicated, experienced volunteers to distribute food to 2 or 3 times as many families as we typically served at “client choice” grocery distributions before 2020.
All of us are aware of how much grocery prices have risen. That fact, combined with the high cost of housing in our area and the end of some forms of pandemic assistance, has significantly impacted the families who come to Loaves and Fishes for food assistance. Your generosity has allowed the pantry to buy milk, eggs, and produce that aren’t otherwise sufficiently available from other sources for the number of families we serve. I know that the families who visit the pantry each month appreciate the substantial amount of fresh or frozen food in their carts (having heard “no cans” from more than a few pantry guests as a volunteer).
The pantry’s Board and staff recently completed an intensive strategic planning effort to guide the next 3-5 years of serving our food-insecure neighbors. The initiatives in that plan will allow us to learn more about the families we serve, deepen our collaborations with other local nonprofits, continue our initiatives in nutrition education for pantry guests, and ensure that the pantry’s volunteers and staff have a positive, supportive environment for the work they do.
Thank you for your continuing generosity and commitment to providing healthy food to our many food-insecure neighbors.
Sincerely,
Amy O’Leary, Board Chair
Distribution by Residence
Recipients’ Dietary Needs
| Cardiac Friendly | 11% |
| Diabetic Friendly | 25% |
| Halal | 15% |
| No Pork | 16% |
| Low Sodium | 4% |
| Shellfish Allergy | 4% |
| Vegetarian or Vegan | 3% |
| Gluten Free | 2% |
Recipients by age
Languages of visitors
| Language* | Percentage |
|---|---|
| English | 47% |
| Spanish | 13% |
| Dari, Farsi, or Pashto | 4% |
| Arabic | 1% |
*35% Language not recorded
Number of visits during 2023
Households receive a full cart of food up to two times each month.
Testimonial
“Excellent, Thanks to those people who are there working and to those who make this help possible. Weeks ago, I went because I really needed it and they helped me, very kind even though I don’t even speak English. They looked for someone who could help me in Spanish.”
Sources of Food
2,457,748 lbs. of food received through donations (85%) and purchase (15%)
| Food Source | lbs. of food |
|---|---|
| Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (donated) | 1,253,215 |
| Sam’s Club | 334,731 |
| Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (purchased) | 190,275 |
| Costco | 160,222 |
| Dutt & Wagner (purchased milk & eggs) | 146,886 |
| Wegmans | 143,414 |
| Kroger Hydraulic | 34,292 |
| All Others | 33,710 |
| Food Lion Mill Creek | 33,688 |
| Kroger Rio Hill | 29,097 |
| Food Lion Pantops | 27,753 |
| Truckers | 20,622 |
| 4P Foods | 18,727 |
| Giant | 10,444 |
| Bellair Farm | 6,104 |
| Aldi | 5,008 |
| Kroger Barracks | 2,415 |
| Farms & Gardens | 6,936 |
Testimonial
“Today was my first time visiting Loaves & Fishes. All I can say is Thank You all so, so much! You provide help for people like me and words just cannot describe how grateful I am! The staff was beyond helpful, friendly and accommodating.”
Food Distribution in 2023
Loaves & Fishes distributed 2,453,030 lbs. of free groceries to 100,235 individuals
Our visitors are getting more—and more varied—types of produce now.
—Monica Davis, Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry Nutritionist
Testimonial
“This resource available to everyone exhibits what humanity should be and what a great neighbor in our community means. Thank you all for the work you all do; I appreciate you. (A volunteer went out of her way to help me with my social anxiety and fear of publicly being present).”
Volunteers are the backbone of our success.
In 2020, Loaves & Fishes added staff and reduced volunteers by 75% to reduce COVID exposure. We now offer 125 volunteer opportunities in 54 shifts each week, but making this change helped us discover new ways of efficiently distributing food to accommodate the large numbers of visitors now coming to the pantry.
How volunteering at Loaves & Fishes has impacted my life.
“Volunteering allows me to help make a difference in our community while surrounded by amazing and supportive people!”
“I have met incredible individuals from diverse backgrounds, all united by the common goal of making a positive impact. These connections have enriched my life and broadened my understanding of the world.”
“I find fulfillment knowing that my efforts at L&F have made a difference in someone else’s life.”
“It‘s kept me upright in a lot of rough spots. I know I've got a group of people who care about me and will support me. That’s worth its weight in gold.”
Sources of Income
Program Efficiency
Fundraising
Total cash raised: $1,238,101
Total raised in 2022: $1,186,994. Increased funds raised by 4%.
987
donors
250 new
donors
23 donors
gave $10K+
56 donors
giving monthly
Number of Donors by Amount Donated
126 donors have supported Loaves & Fishes every year from 2019 to 2023, providing $3.9M in donations
| Donation | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | 1 | 0 |
| $25,000 – $99,999 | 3 | 6 |
| $15,000 – $24,999 | 7 | 6 |
| $10,000 – $14,999 | 12 | 10 |
| $5,000 – $9,999 | 23 | 24 |
| $2,500 – $4,999 | 30 | 34 |
| $1,000 – $2,499 | 125 | 129 |
| $500 – $499 | 99 | 120 |
| $100 – $499 | 251 | 295 |
| $1 – $99 | 204 | 215 |
Testimonial
“Friendly Staff. I feel respected and not embarrassed about the situation that brought me to the food bank.”
Thank you to our generous donors!
Other Accomplishments in 2023
Purchased and used mobile kitchen to demonstrate food preparation and provide food samples to pantry visitors.
Hired new Operations Manager, two Warehouse Associates, Project and Administrative Coordinator, two additional Spanish-speaking and one Dari-speaking registration specialist, and 1st Community Engagement Coordinator.
Added dental and vision insurance to employee benefits, and introduced pay bands to guide staff position pay rates.
Designed and rolled out an updated, easier-to-use website.
During the 2023 growing season, we purchased $3,500 of produce from Bellair Farm, accompanied by donated products.
Partnered with Portico Church volunteers to deliver food to Midway Manor residents on the 3rd Friday of each month.
Partnered with First United Methodist Church to provide eggs for New Beginnings Christian Community distributions.
Renovated part of the building to add office and meeting space, a teaching kitchen, and new furniture for staff.
Purchased a 3-year-old refrigerated 16-foot box truck.
Participated in eight community events.
Partnerships
Food Sources
Aldi
Bellair Farm
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Costco
Dutt & Wagner
Food Lion Mill Creek
Food Lion Pantops
Giant
Kroger Barracks
Kroger Hydraulic
Kroger Rio Hill
Sam’s Club
Wegmans
4P Foods
Parking Lot Outreach
Book Baskets (gave out 9,791 books at pantry distributions in 2023)
Local Energy Alliance Program (information about home repairs for energy efficiency)
UnitedHealthcare and Anthem HealthKeepers (Medicaid re-enrollment)
InnovAge (senior health and stay-at-home support services)
UVA Stroke Clinic (stroke awareness and blood pressure checks)
Re-donation of Non-food Items Received
Albemarle and Charlottesville Departments of Social Services
Alliance for Interfaith Ministries
City of Charlottesville Department of Human Services
City of Promise
Families Helping Families (Albemarle Co. Public Schools)
Greene Free Clinic
Toy Lift
Food Distribution through Partners
Networks
Albemarle County Public Schools/Albemarle County DSS
Alliance for Interfaith Ministries
Blue Ridge Church of Christ
Blue Ridge Presbyterian Church
CIRAC/Sin Barreras
Democratic Socialists of America, Charlottesville Chapter
Emergency Food Network
Restoration and Hope House
First United Methodist Church/New Beginnings Christian Community
International Neighbors
International Rescue Committee
Peace Lutheran Church
Piedmont Housing Alliance
Portico Church
PVCC Pantry
Region 10
Salvation Army
The Crossings
The Haven
The Uhuru Foundation
UVA Pediatric Hospital and Cancer Center
Woodbrook Elementary
Blue Ridge Health District
Blue Ridge Hunger Action Coalition
Boys & Girls Club
Charlottesville Food Justice Network
Habitat for Humanity
Latino Health Initiative
Move2Health Equity
Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR)
UVA Food Insecurity Resource Group
Best Neighbor Award: Connect Church
Board of Directors
501 (c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 2011 and led by a 13-person Board of Directors
Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry
2050 Lambs Road
Charlottesville, VA 22901