FeedTheStreets RVA

Six years ago, a group of recent college graduates decided to come together and provide Thanksgiving meals for the homeless. They set up at Abner Clay Park and had such a huge turnout that the food, coats and mittens they had weren’t enough and they had to run to a local McDonalds to grab more food because they ran out so quickly. That moment made the group realize their work wasn’t done and FeedTheStreetsRVA was born.  

“The mission of FeedTheStreetsRVA is to respond to the basic human needs of all people. Unfortunately, the poverty rate in Richmond is extremely high and we learned that many do not have access to regular meals, hygiene essentials, and other things that middle class citizens may take for granted,” Tamra Gore, vice president of FeedTheStreetsRVA, said. “Our goal is to fill the gaps through a variety of programming, by providing resources, and bringing awareness to the issue.”

Gore (along with Cory Jones, president of FeedTheStreetsRVA, and their executive board) said the nonprofit organization has provided Thanksgiving meals to families in the Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield area the past six years and they’ve “been able to keep peoples’ lights on, pay their rent during a pandemic [and] provide food to children who don’t know where their next meal may come from”. In April, FeedTheStreetsRVA opened one of two hygiene pantries (located in Church Hill and Gilpin Court) with the goal of creating a permanent space where people could come and grab what they needed.

“We have done a variety of pop-up shops where we bring food and resources to the community but we always wonder what do these people do when we leave. The goal of the pantries is a safe space where no one will judge you, no one will question you, and it’s always available to you,” Gore said. “Another big goal of ours is to allow anybody in a position to help others to have a platform to do so. With the overwhelming amount of support that we’ve gotten, I believe we’ve created that platform.”

1. How did you get the word out about the pantries? What has been the response?

As we mentioned above, FeedTheStreetsRVA has been in existence for six years. When we put the pantry out, we strategically picked a location in Church Hill. In and around the area there are many people that we’ve supported in the past so we figured this would be a great place for those folks to have access to free essentials. We posted the pantry on Instagram just as we do any of our events, but what we did not anticipate is the amount of shares, like, comments, & views the panty would receive. There were so many people that wanted to help. Channel 6, channel 8, Richmond Times Dispatch, channel 12, and many other local blogs and newspapers wanted to do a story on the pantry after seeing our Instagram post. It was great because not only did people who need hygiene essentials hear about our efforts, but many volunteers sponsors and donors contacts us and supported the pantry maintenance .

2. How many pantries are open and where are they located? What is in the pantries and who stocks them? 

We currently have two pantries: one in Church Hill at 1223 N. 25th St. behind Mount Olivet church … [and our] other pantry is located in Gilpin Court, right in the heart of Kinfolk community garden. Every day, something new is in the pantry. Not only does FeedTheStreetsRVA constantly collect hygiene products to fill the pantries, but (especially in Church Hill) we rely on the community to come by and leave what they can. We have a woman who comes to the pantry every single week and fills it up for us. She collects hygiene products from her neighbors and bring them to the pantry on the weekends. We have a few businesses that collect donations for us on a regular basis out of their storefronts [and they] come by and drop products off. FeedTheStreetsRVA also hosts pantry refill days where we encourage community members and organizations to drop off products in bulk to ensure our resources don’t run dry. That’s one thing I love about the pantries, it’s give-and-take. There is a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to get involved to come by and leave a box of pads, a box of toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, conditioner, shampoo, perfume. We’ve even had someone drop off denture cleaners, razors, floss combs, brushes, adult diapers, baby diapers, socks, you name it, we’ve seen it.

3. What do you enjoy about doing community outreach work?

I personally I’m always rewarded when I’m able to give back.  I’m a giver and it feels amazing to fill a void for another person, especially if I have the means to do so. Through the work of FeedTheStreetsRVA, we’ve been able to keep peoples lights on, pay their rent during a pandemic, provide a food to children who don’t know where their next meal may come from. We’ve popped up to peoples homes with bags and bags of groceries and witnessed them cry happy tears, we’ve educated the youth on what volunteerism means and given them opportunities to give back, we have sponsored youth that wanted to participate in sports programs who otherwise would not have access to meaningful activities, we’ve connected with a variety of organizations doing similar work to spark real change, the list goes on. What’s not to love about that kind of work? Our board is full of young vibrant people, we have teachers, educators, advocates [and] mental health professionals but we throw ourselves into community outreach because we are passionate. We see the need first hand in our professions and care enough to do the work. This is all volunteer-based for us, what keeps us going is the impact we are making.

4. Have there been any challenges/positives of running FeedTheStreetsRVA/the pantries?

Of course there have been challenges with running a pantry full of hygiene products. I think this is a first for a Richmond. It’s a new innovative idea and so sometimes trial and error is the best way to learn. Although it has flowed very effectively for the most part, we have run into hiccups with the maintenance of the pantry, products being used quicker than we can refill, and other small hiccups that we are still working through. But bigger picture, the pros outweigh the cons by a landslide. We provided thousands of products to people in such a short time. We are really proud of our work and plan to continue putting up pantries in the future.

5. How does it feel to provide essentials/toiletries for the community?

Amazing. Food is an essential need but so is being able to keep your body clean. We know that inflation is through the roof. At one point, there was a tampon shortage. There are so many barriers to getting what you need sometimes. We just want to provide love and light 

and to take that load off [because] we all deserve our basic human needs met. 

6. What upcoming projects do you have in store?

We’ve partnered with HomeAgain [and on] Tuesdays, we gather volunteers and a chef to cook gourmet meals for the people living in the shelter. We have done “cooking in the kitchen” as an organization since our existence, but bringing a chef in with us has provided a level of expertise to the meals that residents of the shelter seem to really enjoy. We made some really good food including crab and shrimp stuffed salmon, rasta pasta, and lasagna. It’s almost like we bring the restaurant experience right to the homeless shelter. Who doesn’t like a personal chef?

And finally in December, we will be sponsoring Christmas gifts for children. We have our own version of angel tree that we do every year [and] we usually sponsor anywhere from 40 to 70 children, but this year we decided to partner with local shelters in Richmond to provide gifts for the children residing in the home. 

7. Anything else you want the public to know about FeedTheStreetsRVA/the pantries?

Just that we are always looking for volunteers donors and supporters of our organization. Please visit www.feedthestreetsrva.com to donate, to contact us, or to learn more about who we are. You can also keep up with our programming on Instagram (feedthestreets_rva).