Students hold food drive to help Food for Others: Nonprofit organization helps feed the hungry

To help feed the hungry of Northern Virginia, George Mason University students collect donations of food Saturday outside the Giant Supermarket in Loehmann’s Plaza in Falls Church, Va. for Food for Others, a nonprofit organization dedicated to distributing free food directly to people in need in Northern Virginia.

Food for Others highlights the poverty problems in Northern Virginia. According to its website, “Even though Northern Virginia is considered one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the country, we still face a poverty rate of about 5%. This means, based on U.S. Census figures, that more than 90,000 people are living in poverty and 30 percent are children.”

Food for Others takes donations of food, money and time. Food for Others also helps support food programs of other community-based agencies. According to its website, “We make bulk distributions of food to more than 30 other charitable organizations that support soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and deliveries to the elderly, as well as church and community center pantries.”

The nonprofit organization’s upcoming special events include “Empty Bowls,” an April 9 event in which individuals who contribute a small donation receive a meal of soup and bread in handcrafted bowls donated by local ceramic artists.

Food for Others then encourages attendees to keep the bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world. In May, the organization is hosting its 7th Annual Food for Others Golf Tournament, which will be played at Springfield Golf & Country Club in Springfield, Va. For more information on these events and Food for Others in general visit the organization’s website www.foodforothers.org.