By Carmen Bunker
In a community gathering space, volunteers with The Community Table for Rockbridge County hand out plates of hot food to dozens of families—some regulars, some first-timers—who are seeking a warm meal and a moment of connection.
“Our mission has always been neighbors serving neighbors,” said Tammy Reid, who chairs the nonprofit group’s board. “We always wanted to have people come in and let us serve them.”
In Rockbridge County, many households are struggling to afford basic necessities. With inflation driving costs and pandemic-era benefits expiring, local nonprofits say they are seeing record demand for food and financial assistance.
Households that can’t afford essential needs are classified as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), meaning they face financial hardship despite having jobs, according to United for ALICE, a nonprofit research initiative that collaborates with United Way to analyze financial hardship across the county.
In 2022, 33% of Rockbridge County households fell into this category, compared to a state average of 29%, according to the researchers.
“Our mission has always been neighbors serving neighbors”
The Rockbridge Area Relief Association (RARA) has multiple programs that aid people in need of food, including the Neighborhood Grocery and Rockbridge Feeds.
Lindsey Perez, RARA’s executive director, said demand has spiked since March 2023.
“We’ve seen the demand for our services skyrocket,” Perez said. “What was happening around that time is that there was some inflation where food costs and other expenses were going up.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic, some people who had been getting child tax credits and food stamps stopped receiving them, Perez said. This led to “record numbers of visits” to RARA’s neighborhood grocery.
“We’re averaging 909 visits per month, whereas in the past we were maybe getting (500) to 600 visits per month,” Perez said. “In 2024, we had a record setting number of visits, about 10,902.”
RARA also works with the nationwide nonprofit Hunters for the Hungry. The group, which donates meat to local food banks, has seen about a 300% increase in organizations seeking out its services, according to Garry Arrington, the group’s director.
“We have signed on more food programs in the past two years, than the past 10 years,” Arrington said.
RARA also works with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, a hunger relief organization in central and western Virginia. It collects food donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as other donations and purchased food.
“[Demand] has risen quite a bit,” said Robin Swecker, the Partner Engagement Manager of the Western Region for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “Especially, the bigger pantries have seen a lot more people.”
“We provide a dignified and comfortable atmosphere that avoids stigmas of a soup kitchen.”
The Community Table of Rockbridge County, which collaborates with other nonprofits, serves about 200 meals a week.
“We provide a dignified and comfortable atmosphere that avoids stigmas of a soup kitchen,” Reid said.
Reid said they have had to have “serious conversations” about increasing their fundraising efforts due to the growing demand and the rising cost of food.
“Throughout 2024, we were taking losses,” Reid said. “And with our aggressive fundraiser we were able to raise some funds that will sustain us for a while. But just like any nonprofit, without donations or grants, we can’t function.”
Alongside The Community Table, Rockbridge Connect and Nourish also provides hot meals, bringing people together for both nourishment and support.
Rockbridge Area Transportation System and Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital partnered to create Rockbridge Connect and Nourish to aid those in need for food. It provides free dinners, catered by local businesses, for the first three weeks of each month.
“We have had a lot of people come out,” Watkins said.
The first dinner started on March 15, 2023. The events offers multiple resources to people in need, as well as food. In the first 18 months, the program served 3,385 free meals.
“We have served 480 meals per round at each location,” Watkins said.
The Rockbridge County High School also has its own program called Food for Thought. It works stop “combat widespread food insecurity among students” and “minimize the stigma around pantries.”
As food insecurity rises in Rockbridge County, RARA continues working with other local organizations—from community meal programs to other initiatives—to provide essential resources to those in need.
“We really want to make sure that we’re doing a great job serving the amount of people that are coming to us,” Perez said. “Providing them with all the items that they need.”