A Meal for My Brother, Please?

A young middle school student walks into the school food pantry. He’s there because he’s hungry, and he eagerly accepts all the food the school staff member offers him. Before he leaves, he looks up with his big brown eyes and asks “May I have that for my little brother?” as he points to one of many hearty, microwaveable meals. “He really likes those.”

This was one of many conversations that Meg Gollinger, Director of Student Services at Irving Middle School, has with children on a regular basis. She is grateful that, thanks to the services provided by Food For Neighbors, she has the ability to say “yes” every time.

“A lot of people don’t realize the need for food in Northern Virginia,” noted Gollinger, while emphasizing that so many families struggle with meeting basic needs. “Growing kids, especially those in their middle school and high school years, need healthy foods to eat. Beyond school meals, many kids go without. Food For Neighbors has really helped fill a need in my school and many others.”

This weekend and evening food gap was the grassroots impetus behind Food For Neighbors, founded to address food insecurity experienced by secondary school students, for whom few to no supplemental food programs existed. Food For Neighbors mobilizes communities to provide food support so that students have a reliable, nutritious food source in addition to their school meals. The organization partners with the schools, where school staff identify students in need and provide them with direct food and grocery gift card support. The rapport built through this food connection also enables staff to identify other needs students may have.

“We could not do this without our school partners,” shared Karen Joseph, Founder and Executive Director of Food For Neighbors. “Schools truly are in the best position to identify and address teen food insecurity. This is why we’re making a point of celebrating schools and their volunteers and surrounding communities for the difference they’ve been making in the lives of students.”

During the Food For Neighbors April 30th Red Bag food collection and sorting event, Joseph visited Irving Middle School, which, under the management of Gollinger, has been serving as the food collection site not only for Irving but also for West Springfield High School, John R. Lewis High School, Key Middle School, Edison High School, and Mark Twain Middle School. There, Joseph lauded Gollinger and her volunteer team including Volunteer Coordinator Julie Peasley, Event Coordinator Kristin O’Connor, Driver Coordinator and Red Bag Drop-off Supervisor Tahnee Blauser, and Anniversary Celebration Coordinator Yolanda Girouard. Joseph then highlighted the many Springfield area schools and staff that have been making a difference through the program, which reached the Springfield area in January 2018.

Among these are Norma Cruz and Alena Carroll, John R. Lewis High School family liaisons who raised their hands immediately when their school was looking for new staff to coordinate with Food For Neighbors. Passionate about the program, they wanted to make sure it continued when the former liaison changed schools. They have seen Food For Neighbors make a direct, positive impact on students facing a variety of struggles, from the homeless or unaccompanied minor to the student influenced by poor peer examples to the child of a single parent who lost her well-paying job during the pandemic. Cruz and Carroll also recruited Gonzalo Tomas Ovalle, the school’s On-Time Graduation Coordinator, to help pick up large quantities of food from Irving Middle School and to deliver food weekly to families experiencing dire circumstances.

Carroll explained, “Food For Neighbors has been a blessing for our students and families, as the supplemental food gives them a nutritional boost. It has also been a stepping stone to building rapport with our families, which helps us better assist them. We’re very thankful, and the families are thankful. They don’t have to worry about their children having food so they can focus at school.”

In all, Joseph recognized six schools, each with its own Food For Neighbors story.

Irving Middle School
Cynthia Conley, Principal
Meg Gollinger, Director of Student Services
Traci Jamison, Social Worker
David Rolls, Family Liaison

West Springfield High School
Michael Mukai, Principal
Anne Marie Colligan, Social Worker
Rebecca Cousins, Teacher

Key Middle School
Dr. Aimee Holleb, Principal
Monique Borthayre-Dignan, Family Liaison

John R. Lewis High School
Alfonso Smith, Principal
Alena Carroll, Family Liaison
Norma Cruz, Family Liaison
Gonzalo Tomas Ovalle, On-Time Graduation Coordinator

Mark Twain Middle School
Charles Miller, Principal
Steve Fitzgerald, Director of Student Services

Edison High School
Pamela Brumfield, Principal
Patrice Butler, Social Worker

While the brief recognition ceremony ensued, vehicle after vehicle loaded with Red Bag food and toiletry donations continued to arrive. This wasn’t surprising given the steadfast support that the Springfield community has given to Food For Neighbors.

“As soon as we sent out information to the Springfield area, we received an immediate response,” shared Gollinger. “I credit the wonderful Springfield community members. Their support of this program has been amazing. Any time we ask for something, they go above and beyond.”

This generosity of spirit allowed Gollinger to offer support to surrounding schools, growing the program from one to six schools in the immediate area. As a result, the Springfield area now has 393 households donating food, 76 drivers collecting it, and 294 volunteers sorting it. To date, it has collected over 72,000 pounds of food for area students.

Irving Middle School Principal Cynthia Conley, who learned about the Food For Neighbors program and brought it to her school, agrees. “...thanks to our partnership with Food For Neighbors and our amazing West Springfield community, we have been able to do more for kids and families than we could have ever imagined. …Knowing we can do so much for so many is such a highlight of the program.”

Conley emphasized the resilience of the community at the beginning of the pandemic, which was a time when nearby Westfield Baptist Church also offered tremendous support. Conley also noted how much she loves that Food For Neighbors encourages all to become involved. At her school, students of all abilities may pack the food for distribution, and the big Red Bag food collection and sorting events present easy opportunities for entire families to serve.

“My favorite part of Food for Neighbors is seeing families volunteering together on collection day,” said Conley. “We have had young children, to include my own daughter,…help on collection day. Showing kids at a young age the importance of helping others is immeasurable.”

Food For Neighbors now has over 1,700 households donating food and over 1,200 volunteers offering to collect, sort, and deliver it to 29 schools in Fairfax County and Loudoun County. As of the April 30th event, the nonprofit has provided over 330,000 pounds of food for students, and it continues to expand to address the need. To learn how you can serve others through Food For Neighbors, visit https://www.foodforneighbors.org/.