New ALIVE Food Hub Opens In Del Ray To Serve Residents In Need

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A new ALIVE food hub providing resources to residents in need held a grand opening Wednesday in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood. The food hub is open at 2601 Mount Vernon Avenue, the former location of the Nature's Nibbles pet store.

ALIVE, a nonprofit providing safety net resources to Alexandrians, offers food, personal items, cleaning supplies, school supplies, community, and information about other services at the food hub. A grand opening was held Wednesday with ALIVE leaders, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson and faith leaders.

"This is important in our effort to address food insecurity and ensure access to critical services for our vulnerable communities," the mayor shared in a tweet at the grand opening.

ALIVE dates back to 1969, founded by 14 faith communities as Alexandria Involved Ecumenically to address increasing poverty and has grown to 49 faith communities. It has distributed food through methods such as food distribution events and pop-ups in specific neighborhoods and apartment buildings.

Now the nonprofit is expanding its reach as funds from the city's American Rescue Plan Act allocation allow ALIVE to provide brick-and-mortar locations for food distribution and other assistance. The first ALIVE food hub opened in May 2022 at the Van Dorn Station Shopping Center in the West End.

Another food hub is planned at the future redevelopment of the Samuel Madden Homes in the Old Town West area.

ALIVE plans to continue monthly food distributions and neighborhood pop-ups despite the growth of food hubs.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.