The Richmond Christmas Mother Fund announced that it has awarded a $27,000 grant to FeedMore to provide meals to 2,000 Richmond families during the Christmas season. The meals will be distributed throughout greater Richmond in December through FeedMore’s Mobile Pantry program, which takes food directly to neighborhoods with limited access to healthy and affordable food.
“To say we are honored to receive this grant is an understatement. We are thrilled to be one of the recipients of this amazing and wonderful gift,” said Tim McDermott, Chief Development Officer at FeedMore. “This support allows us to further extend our impact during our Mobile Pantry distributions, while helping to make this Christmas season extra special and memorable for the families we serve.”
The donation makes FeedMore the second largest beneficiary of the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund. The Salvation Army Central Virginia received $150,000 from the fund in June. In addition, 60 local non-profit groups will receive $116,700 this holiday season as part of a yearly grant program administered by the Richmond Christmas Mother Committee and The Community Foundation of Richmond.
“Celebrating the 81st year of the Richmond Christmas Mother program, we are so very happy to continue the tradition of brightening the holidays for our neighbors in need,” said Thomas A. Silvestri, chairman of the Richmond Christmas Mother committee and the publisher of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “This unprecedented partnership with FeedMore and the addition of a meals component to the Richmond Christmas Mother allows us to reach more people in even more meaningful ways.”
FeedMore’s Mobile Pantry program distributes approximately 92,000 pounds of food monthly to communities or areas where there is a need for more food. With 20 distribution locations in unserved or underserved areas throughout Central Virginia, the Mobile Pantry is committed to providing families with a variety of perishable and non-perishable food items for well-balanced meals.
“Every family in Richmond deserves to have a delicious meal their family can gather around during the holiday season,” said Katherine Wintsch, the 2015 Richmond Christmas Mother. “To be able to give 2,000 families in RVA this gift is meaningful beyond words.”
About FeedMore
FeedMore is Central Virginia’s core hunger-relief organization comprised of the Central Virginia Food Bank, Meals on Wheels and the Community Kitchen. Spanning nearly one-third of the state, across 34 counties and cities, FeedMore serves more than 200,000 individuals in the region’s most vulnerable populations – children, families and seniors. Working together to efficiently and effectively fight hunger, FeedMore’s multi-tiered approach and comprehensive programs are dedicated to nourishing the community while empowering lives. For additional information, please visit FeedMore.org, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About Richmond Christmas Mother Fund
The Richmond Christmas Mother Fund seeks to support those in need in Central Virginia during the holiday season by helping to provide food and holiday meals, toys, gifts, clothing, and transportation to holiday events.
The community effort is coordinated by the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s five-person Richmond Christmas Mother Committee, a non-profit organization. The Richmond Christmas Mother Fund started in 1935, evolving out of the Richmond News Leader’s Empty Stocking Fund and the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Good Fellow Club. To date, the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund has raised more than $7.5 million. For additional information on the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund, please visit us here or on Facebook.