What Does a Stay-at-Home Statewide Order Mean for the FRFB?

Our primary responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic is to support and sustain this vital network and ensure food access for the tens of thousands of families who depend on us. The FRFB staff, volunteers, and partners throughout our network will continue to provide essential service to the communities we serve, and we will continue to do so as the COVID-19 public health crisis evolves. The following statement from the Federation of Virginia Food Banks has been approved by Governor Northam:

Please be advised that regardless of the Virginia mandates for business closing, quarantine, and/or sheltering, the charitable food assistance network will always be exempt. Our work on the front lines to fight food insecurity across the Commonwealth is considered life-sustaining work. This work includes that of food banks and partner agencies—pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters—and our most valuable asset, our volunteers.

The FRFB, our partners, and our volunteers are involved in an essential human service and are exempt from meeting size restrictions and closures. While we remain open in order to ensure continuity of our mission, it is important to emphasize that we are closely adhering to experts’ health recommendations to protect the safety of our volunteers and staff.