Loaves & Fishes Expansion

Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry announced today a campaign to raise $225,000 to expand its capacity to feed the area’s hungry. Since March 17 and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Loaves & Fishes has provided more than one million pounds of food to 28,429 people.

The fundraising campaign will help the nonprofit pantry expand, adding a 432-square-foot refrigerator and a 288-square-foot freezer, tripling the pantry’s refrigerated storage and doubling freezer space. The funds will also allow for HVAC and lighting upgrades.

Loaves & Fishes Executive Director Jane Colony Mills said, “In April and May, half the households coming for help were visiting a food pantry for the first time. COVID-19 has brought not only greater need, but also an abundance of available fresh produce, eggs, and milk from local farms and home gardens, distributors, and the USDA – so much that Loaves & Fishes has run out of space to store and easily access perishable foods.”

The expansion will allow the pantry to properly store fresh and frozen groceries until consumers can pick them up in the safe, contact-free, drive-through pickup line.

To donate or learn more about receiving food, visit cvilleloaves.org or call or email Jane Colony Mills at 434-996-7868 or executivedirector@cvilleloaves.org.