Fredericksburg Regional Foodbank
Replacing food scarcity with food security
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
At the core of our three-year strategic plan adopted in 2021 is an investment in the long-term sustainability of our operations and the development of organizational resiliency to scale our operations to evolving and changing conditions such as community economic changes, disaster impacts, and population growth. Our plan calls for us to assess and address key elements of long-term operations such as comprehensive planning for the right scale and functionality of our facilities, additional vehicle fleet requirements, technology adaptation, resource development, and programming evolution, including improvements in our service delivery models, where needed.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Commodity Supplemental Food Program
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program is the only USDA nutrition program that provides monthly food assistance specially targeted at low-income seniors. The program is designed to meet the unique nutritional needs of participants, supplementing diets with a monthly package of healthy, nutritious USDA commodities.
Mobile Pantry Program
The Mobile Pantry brings fresh produce and pantry items to remote and under-served areas of our community where many food-insecure families have limited access to healthy food. The Mobile Pantry rotates distribution between 20+ sites within our service area to help us progress towards our goal of a hunger-free community.
Summer Feeding Program
Our Summer Feeding Program provides freshly-prepared, healthy, and delicious meals to youth 18 years of age and under. These meals are provided during the summer months when school is out. Our overarching goal is to help alleviate childhood hunger by bridging the hunger gap when a reliable food source may not be available. Summer Feeding operates in conjunction with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), partially reimbursed by the USDA and administered by the Department of Education. At no cost, any child 18 years of age or younger, may visit one of our sites for a meal. Sites are located in school zones where 50% or more of the children are eligible for free/reduced meals.
School Food Pantry
The mission of the School Food Pantry Program is to help alleviate child hunger through the provision of food to children and their families at school. School-based pantries are located on the grounds of a participating school, have set distribution schedules, and offer ongoing food assistance services. As a need is identified by school staff, emergency food is provided to the family in need, along with resource materials such as a pantry reference list and SNAP information.
Pantry Distribution Program
The Pantry Distribution Program has been the heart of the FRFB since 1982. It provides millions of pounds of nutritious food for families, children, and seniors in our district who are food insecure. The FRFB is a resource for our partner faith-based and member non-profit organizations to obtain the food they need to help keep food resources readily available for distribution to the hungry. The FRFB functions as a food hub, providing food and grocery items to over 150 community partners in Caroline, Spotsylvania, King George, and Stafford Counties, the City of Fredericksburg, and the community of Locust Grove in Orange County. Our community partners receive food to stock more than 250 hunger-relief programs, including pantries, school pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens. This enables our food-insecure neighbors to seek assistance in their local community.
TEFAP
The FRFB serves as a distribution point for government commodities that are made available on a monthly basis to income-eligible individuals through certified TEFAP pantries throughout our communities. Rules for acceptance and participation in the program are the same for everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, or handicap. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
SNAP Outreach
In tough economic times, now more than ever, families in Virginia are feeling the money crunch. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, is a government program that provides low-income families with funds on an Electronic Debit Transfer (EBT) card. These funds can be used to purchase healthy foods at participating grocery stores, department stores, as well as an increased number of farmers' markets.
OrderAhead
OrderAhead is the newest program of the FRFB and offers the next level of service to those in need. It enables our neighbors facing food insecurity to order food online, select a convenient time, and pick it up at a scheduled time. It expands access to emergency food resources through a discrete and convenient click-and-collect grocery ordering system that reduces the physical and social barriers encountered by our neighbors facing food insecurity.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Feeding America 1995
Rappahannock United Way 1994
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
These numbers are based off of our Fiscal Year (July to June)
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Children and youth
Related Program
Pantry Distribution Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The unique number of individuals who have received assistance through our network of partner agencies. These numbers are based off of our Fiscal Year (July to June)
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Commodity Supplemental Food Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Seniors that have received a box of supplemental groceries each month through our CSFP program.
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
These numbers are based off of our Fiscal Year (July to June)
Number of pounds distributed each year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Total number of pounds of food distributed to those in need within our service area.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Summer Feeding Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Number of meals served to children during our Summer Feeding program
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Among the chief goals pursued under our strategic plan are:
- Facility and infrastructure capability enhancement to align with community-scale of service requirements, technology evolution, and overall operational functionality.
- Network capacity building in concert with community partner agencies and through direct service expansion
- Emphasis on improving health conditions of those served, including improved nutritional support through our inventory and distribution composition and healthcare partnerships that promote community health equity
- Developing an appropriately neighbor-centered program service model based on feedback and assessment received through neighbor engagement activities
- Expanded community awareness of the issue of food insecurity in our region, formation of community collaborations that can improve food security, engagement opportunities around the issue of food insecurity, and mobilization of new partnerships aimed at improving regional food security
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Within our four core areas of operational delineation, we have outlined the following strategic pillars appropriate to each unit.
Finance and Administration
1) Infrastructure Investment and Capital Improvement - We will add to our capacity to serve by insuring we update our facilities and develop appropriate plans for long-term capital needs
2) Long-Term Investment - We will leverage our resources to create opportunities for long-term sustainability
3) Staffing - We will add key leadership and staff positions to energize the coordination and expansion of our mission and to provide staffing depth
Operations
1) Customer Service - We commit to improving efficiencies and enhancing our support to community partners and neighbors in need
2) Facility and Fleet Management - We will invest in our facilities and vehicle fleet to strengthen them as key assets that advance our capacity to serve
3) Inventory Management - We will provide appropriate technology and training to manage the increasing complexity of inventory growth
4) Product Sourcing - We will target food resources, especially from local sources, that can improve the nutritional health of our neighbors
Programs/Agencies
1) Capacity Building - We will strengthen our network capacity through standards of service that lead to greater efficiency and stronger resourcing
2) Special Populations/Neighbor Engagement - We will evaluate our programming and reinvent it as necessary to aim for more holistic support of entire families and special populations, while also addressing self-identified challenges faced by our neighbors in need
3) Nutritional Health - We will advance the nutritional options available to our neighbors, broaden nutritional access through SNAP and expand distribution options, and promote nutritional health awareness
4) Service Delivery Model - We will adapt our services to be more responsive to the voice of our neighbors and to their unique challenges in accessing services, and we will help identify holistic solutions to their underlying challenges
Strategic Initiatives
1) Advocacy - We will help capture and convey the voice of our neighbors to shape community awareness of food insecurity and its challenges
2) Business Model/Revenue Generation - We will creatively pursue sustainable and renewable resource options to complement our existing services and opportunities for support
3) Communications/Marketing - We will promote our brand and expand our messaging to deepen community awareness of our needs and services
4) Donor & Volunteer Stewardship - We will frequently engage with those who support our mission and continue to deepen their mission awareness while also opening avenues of opportunity to invite engagement from new supporters
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have several assets at our disposal which give us a foundation for pursuing the core goals within our strategic plan. We have a sound technological understanding among leadership and openness and commitment to embracing appropriate technology to advance our operations, especially in the areas of inventory and data management. We have seasoned program leadership committed to innovation in programming and the evolution and adaptation of existing programming. Also, within our community, there is an emerging common referral platform centered on healthcare to allow us to engage in providing more holistic services for those we serve. We also have a strong social media presence and relatively high profile and visibility within our community to deepen opportunities for community engagement and awareness.
We recognize and are trying to address some deficiencies which present current challenges to our fulfillment of organizational goals, most notably certain skill sets and relationships which will be helpful in moving us towards our goals. We are actively seeking to strengthen our personnel capabilities at both the staff and board level of leadership based on the priorities identified within our strategic plan, adding resource development bandwidth and operational depth among staff, while aiming to expand our board to an appropriate scale in size and diversity in membership for expanding its community networking capabilities. We also recognize and are addressing the need for expanded community engagement and relationship building by investing more staff energy and commitment to cultivating volunteerism, community advocacy, and corporate and governmental partnerships.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have recently leased additional space to give us extra facility capacity and flexibility. This will give us improved inventory management capabilities and allow us to receive additional food commodities for the benefit of our community. We have also recently made personnel changes designed to focus additional attention on resource management in the arena of Finance and Administration, improvement of operational structure within our Operations unit, food resource development within our Operations unit, and financial resource development and partnership building within our Strategic Initiatives unit, as well as volunteer recruitment and development. We also have invested additional energy in activities designed to deepen health and nutritional enhancement for those we serve through fostering local healthcare relationships and through a national partnership to provide us with inventory nutritional assessment tools that will ultimately improve the nutritional mix and value of our inventory.
Among the next steps on the immediate horizon, a primary focus will be programming assessment, particularly with input from program participants, to determine program enhancement and evolution needed to make our programming service delivery models more user-friendly and more broadly accessible. Another immediate focus is on board development and expansion through a targeted diversification plan. We also have a short-term focus on adding experienced and broadly diversified leadership to our financial resource development efforts to ensure greater long-term sustainability through those strategies.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Fredericksburg Regional Foodbank
Board of directorsas of 02/23/2024
Jackie Palmer
Jackie Palmer
McLane MidAtlantic
Jeremy Bullock
VA District Amateur Athletic Union
Frank Cirioni
Germanna Community College
Paul Covill
Burke & Herbert Bank
Adam Eidson
RARE CrossFit
Betsy Mason
City of Fredericksburg Police
Johnny Powell
Giant Food
Tamara Robinson
Mary Washington Health Care
Calvin Taylor
Brian Williams
Stafford County Schools Department of Nutrition
Carol Garland
Keith Wampler
PBMares
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/23/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.