Hunger and Food Access
Browse our directory of Nonprofit Members serving the Peninsula, including Newport News, Hampton, City of Williamsburg, James City County, York County, Gloucester, Mathews, and Poquoson. To conduct a search, you can enter a keyword such as "housing" or "education" in the Search bar, enter the city or zip code in the Location field, and/or select a program category from the dropdown menu. Note: Many of our nonprofit members serve multiple locations on the Peninsula. To filter your search results by specific location(s) served, select the checkbox next to each.
The Williamsburg Farmers Market‘s mission is to sustain, foster, and operate a weekly farmers market in Merchants Square for growers and producers to sell fresh seasonal food and farm products direct to consumers in the Williamsburg area.
Since the 1960s Hampton Baptist Church has worked to alleviate hunger in downtown Hampton. In 2015 we changed the name to SAME (So All May Eat) to better reflect our mission to create an interfaith community by addressing nutritional and physical needs with our neighbors who are homeless or living in poverty so we might together experience the fullness of God’s love and grace.
Providing miles of smiles by helping to alleviate poverty, hunger and insufficiencies through hope, love and giving of human resources, providing human services and empowerment workshops in life skills to revitalize and build strong families making a socioeconomic impact in our community. We provide free clothing, non-perishable food, personal hygiene and school supplies to those in need.
Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture is committed to reducing food insecurity within the Hampton Roads area, through urban farming, programming, and by creating a sustainable food system.
The mission of Williamsburg Community Growers is to educate the public regarding the benefits of producing and consuming locally grown produce; provide gardening space for individuals and organizations; promote healthy, sustainable lifestyles for the community; and demonstrate and promote conservation practices.
The vision of Williamsburg Community Growers is to grow Williamsburg’s healthy community food ecosystem.
THRIVE Peninsula is a 501c-3 faith-based coalition, helping families through financial hardship. We offer emergency financial assistance, financial coaching, food pantry services and more, to help families to stay afloat. Our food pantry hosts fresh produce, frozen meats, dairy items, breads, and shelf-stable goods and is open 5 days per week. Our financial coaches work alongside families to build budgets and connect them to relevant tools to make their money work for them. Our financial assistance program prevents eviction and utility cut-off, daily, and can help pay for a critical car repair, uniforms for work or other requests that help families retain employment. THRIVE hosts 165 weekly volunteers who pack groceries, build budgets, greet visitors, speaks with clients, and perform our mission. To learn more about us and to get involved, visit http://www.thrivepeninsula.org.
Williamsburg House of Mercy provides compassionate human services to those in need in the Greater Williamsburg area regardless of faith. We provide homeless prevention services and financial assistance for utilities, rapid rehousing and supportive services for the homeless, and food security services.
Proclaiming Grace Outreach is a faith-based 501c3 organization that provides a holistic approach to serving the needs of its surrounding communities by means of a food pantry, thrift store, home repair projects, scholarships for local high school seniors, and yearly financial gifts to the New Kent Humane Society and New Kent Animal Shelter.
Grove Christian Outreach Center maintains an Outreach Center in the Grove area of James City County in order to minister to they physical and spiritual needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the community. They provide food, clothing, financial assistance, school supplies, holiday food baskets, Christmas baskets, shoebox gifts for kids, and a blessing room for families.
The Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has been a community leader in providing food assistance to residents experiencing hunger across the greater Peninsula. We acquire food through donations, purchasing, and government programs and collaborate with over 150 partner agencies to ensure that it reaches those who are in need. We also operate our own programs that aim to alleviate food insecurity in children, individuals, families, seniors, and veterans. We proudly serve the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg, and the counties of Gloucester, James City, Mathews, Surry, and York. The Foodbank also represents an important component of the community’s emergency response following a weather disaster, economic downturn, or health pandemic. We focus on giving our neighbors the nutritious food they need to live a healthy lifestyle.
While we certainly provide support to our neighbors who are caught in a cycle of poverty and experience chronic food insecurity, we also offer assistance to people who are confronting temporary, short-term challenges, such as a job loss, medical emergency, or accident and need food to sustain them until they can regain stability. Hunger can impact a household without notice, and the face of hunger could be your neighbor. By working daily to provide comfort and hope in the form of healthy meals, we strive to ensure that every person or family has a plate at the table and can avoid making impossible choices between having food and addressing other basic needs. Hunger does not discriminate, and neither do we. The Foodbank is here to support anyone who needs help.