Little Food Pantry Installed At Hybla Valley Community Center

HYBLA VALLEY, VA — Residents in need have a new option to find food donations at a Little Free Food Pantry in Hybla Valley.

The new food pantry is located at the street entrance of the Hybla Valley Community Center, 7950 Audubon Ave., Alexandria, VA around the Audubon Estates mobile home park. It was installed by Be the Good Project and Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk with a donation by Ashton Bauersfeld Fisher honoring her late husband, Ryan Fisher, who died of cancer earlier in 2022.

Be The Good Project, a group connecting volunteers with efforts to feed people in need, has been expanding its Little Food Pantry network in the DC region. This year, the Alexandria-based nonprofit received a zoning interpretation from Fairfax County allowing the food pantry expansion. Little Free Food Pantries are stocked by local volunteers, offering unexpired non-perishable food to residents experiencing food insecurity.

"As we looked for opportunities to expand the network of Little Free Food Pantries this year, we
sought the counsel of Supervisor Rodney Lusk and his staff," said Sterling and Amber
Marchand, co-founders of Be The Good Project. "We are incredibly grateful for his help and guidance through this process, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with his office in Fairfax County as we look for opportunities to help feed our neighbors."

Lusk, who previously worked in human services in the Richmond Highway corridor along with other county positions before joining the board, has worked to address food insecurity. Food distributions in his district during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in three million pounds of food and supplies being distributed to families in need.

"The Little Food Pantry network is a convenient alternative for residents to access food directly
in their community," said Lusk in a statement. "It was a pleasure to work with Be The Good
and guide the organization through Fairfax County’s zoning, health, and permitting processes."

To date, Be the Good Project has installed 25 food pantries in the DC region, 14 of which are in Fairfax County. The nonprofit was created in 2020, distributing food to people in need during the pandemic. To date, it has donated over 100,000 pounds of food, 95,000 sandwiches for the homeless, and 4,200 individual bags of food to families in need.

The location of the food pantry is the Hybla Valley Community Center, which opened earlier in 2022. The county converted the building, the former Mount Vernon Athletic Club, into a multi-service center. One of the highlights is the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub, which seeks to prepare designed to prepare Richmond Highway corridor residents for more kinds of job opportunities, particularly in-demand technology jobs.

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.