Hopewell Food Pantry celebrates 40 years of 'neighbors feeding neighbors'

HOPEWELL — This summer, the Hopewell Food Pantry [HFP] celebrates 40 years of serving the Hopewell community. Chairman of the Board and Executive Director J. Richard "Dick" Commander reached out to The Progress-Index to share this significant milestone and a bit of HFP history.

In June 1983, HFP was organized by a group of local churches alongside the Department of Social Services.

"Initially, our mission was to provide emergency food to individuals and families. This emergency arose when people had been approved for food stamps but had to wait up to three weeks for them to be delivered," Commander of Enon said. "To bridge this gap, families received food every week from the HFP until their food stamps arrived. Over the past 40 years, HFP's mission has expanded to fight hunger in Hopewell by serving all Hopewell families in need of food."

HFP was first located downtown at 112 E. Broadway. During that time, the pantry has served approximately 2,500 clients a year.

"Due to the recession in 2008, our client load increased exponentially, and it has stayed at that level ever since. Therefore, we needed a bigger space," Commander said. "Five years ago, we were extremely fortunate to find a building at 903 West City Point Rd. that only had three walls and a roof. With matching grants from John Randolph Foundation and Cameron Foundation, the shell of a building was transformed into a beautiful, new 3100-square-foot building."

The COVID-19 pandemic placed several challenges on individuals and families. Despite their challenges, HFP knew they needed to continue their mission.

"Most of our older volunteers felt it necessary to stay home during the pandemic. However, while understaffed, we were blessed with new ones," Commander said. "We never shut down, not even for a day. After a few months, those that had been cautious gradually began to return."

To facilitate the safety of the volunteers and clients during the pandemic, HFP changed to a drive-up service which continues to this day.

"Also, at the same time, a woman offered to set up a program of home delivery to our shut-ins," Commander said.

Presently, HFP has four delivery teams. They serve around 40 clients a month. This service is provided to families who have no way of getting food due to transportation issues.

"HFP proudly serves the neediest families in Hopewell. We want to help them as much as possible, and we do," Commander said. "Typically, food pantries are only able to give their clients food from FeedMore and donations. From its beginning, HFP has purchased food to maximize what we can give to our clients. This allows them to get more food each visit."

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What began as food support for families waiting for food stamps has evolved into a highly respected organization that serves over 13,000 clients per year. HFP has ongoing support from many local churches, organizations, businesses, individuals and the city of Hopewell. Other financial support includes the John Randolph Foundation, Cameron Foundation, Altria Foundation, Community Development Block Grant, Capital Area Partners Uplifting People, Feed More and the United Way of Hopewell-Prince George.

"This local support is the reason we have been able to fully complete our mission year after year, even during the pandemic. We also appreciate local food drives conducted by businesses, churches, U.S. soldiers, schools, boy scouts and the post office's 'Stamp Out Hunger,'" Commander said. "With this sense of community and partnership, we hope to emulate our motto 'Neighbors Feeding Neighbors.'"

Residents who reside in zip code 23860 are eligible for a distribution of perishable and nonperishable food items, including fresh produce sufficient for at least one week. Once registered, clients are permitted one visit per calendar month. Valid identification cards must be presented each time. Drive-thru distribution hours are Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 1 - 3 p.m.

For more information, follow Hopewell Food Pantry on Facebook and visit hopewellfoodpantry.com. Monetary donations may be sent via PayPal from the website or mailed to: PO BOX 1532 Hopewell VA 23860.

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This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell Food Pantry: 'Neighbors feeding neighbors' for 40 years