About Us
A member agency of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank network, Highland Food Pantry of Winchester, Virginia serves people in the northern Shenandoah Valley experiencing chronic hunger. Our main activity is the distribution of food to individuals and families in need. We are a United Way partner.
Mission
Provide food and other assistance to those in need and engage our community in the fight to end hunger.
Vision
Highland Food Pantry envisions ending hunger in the northern Shenandoah Valley.
Statement of Values
We serve our clients faithfully with respect and compassion
We provide assistance without obligation
We make our clients feel welcome and safe
We work collaboratively with other organizations in our community to carry out our mission
We value our staff, volunteers, and their diverse talents, backgrounds, passion and commitment to the community
We promote education and programs that lead toward sustainable food resources
Executive Director
Jenny Callis
The Board
Executive Board
Charly Franks, Chair
Jeff Konrady, Vice Chair
Carolyn Athey, Secretary
Mike Thompson, Treasurer
Members
Gary Braswell
Liesel Carter
Stacey Iden
Vicki Laird
Andy Muzic
Clowe Nicholson
Leisa Oliva
Honorary Board Members
Jackie Anderson
Jim Riley
Why We Do It
To continue the pantry's years service to our community since 1984.
The need of the community: in 2023 Highland Food Pantry served over 8,683 families (26,318 individuals) and 714,975 pounds of food.
The total value of food that came into the pantry and was given out or shared with other nonprofits during 2023 was $1,379,901.75 (To come up with a monetary value the Food Bank uses $1.93 per pound).
Our Special Delivery Project, which provides food for homebound seniors monthly, started in June 2015 through a grant received from the United Way. In 2023, the project packaged and delivered 175-200 bags per month to food insecure seniors.
Malnutrition can cause cognitive impairments in children, lasting a lifetime.
Faced with a choice of paying for housing, utilities and medical care, food is often the first eliminated expense.
In the past 3 decades, the poverty rate among working families has increased by 50%.
In 2023, we processed 255,312 pounds of food from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and over 25 tons were received through donations from individuals and by community groups such as schools, churches, and businesses.
Our Partner-Pick-Up program has continued to grow over the years. Currently we are picking up food from four local grocers twelve times a week and have received 308,606 pounds of food.
We are one of 2 pantries that have evening hours to serve people who are unable to come during the morning hours.
We are staffed by 89 regular volunteers, in addition to various groups from our community such as schools, churches, businesses, etc. Last year, approximately 10,000 hours were donated by Highland Food Pantry volunteers to work towards accomplishing our mission.
We are funded by donations of food and money from churches, businesses, individuals, local farmers and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.
History of Highland Food Pantry
The pantry began as a community outreach project of Highland Memorial Presbyterian Church in the late 1980’s to serve the Food Insecure families in the area surrounding the church. As the need in the community grew, the church continued to support their neighbors and others in need who came from across Winchester and Frederick County and even beyond. The church invited other faith based and community organizations to join them in serving those in need.
In 2012, it became apparent that the need had outgrown the church’s capacity to meet that need. A task force of volunteers was formed to study the possibilities. In 2013, Highland Food Pantry incorporated as a separate entity and became a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Being a legal non-profit made the pantry eligible for funding that was not available to the church. Highland Memorial Presbyterian Church remains one of the pantry’s strongest supporters. They provide the space in the church basement, provide custodial support, volunteers and on-going financial support.
The Pantry is open on Tuesday mornings from 9:00 to 11:30 for food and limited emergency financial assistance. In 2014, the Pantry expanded its hours to include evening hours from 6:00 to 7:30 to accommodate clients who have full time day time jobs.
Location
(corner of Highland Ave & Kern St)
446 Highland Avenue
Winchester, VA 22602
Hours
(Tuesday only)
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM & 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM