Not just pre-packaged food boxes, but fresh, home-cooked meals are now going to families in southwest Virginia.
A new non-profit kitchen is putting food directly on the table of those in need.
It's helping families like Holly Roark's. She has her hands full. Roark is the mom of a 4-year-old and an 18-month old.
"They like to change their routines, what they like, their food routines," Roark said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she has avoided taking them out. She is one of several families taking advantage of Feeding Southwest Virginia's new kitchen delivery van.
"I didn’t have to go out and be in the mess. It was very convenient," Roark said. "It's like a food truck kind of, so 12 or 12:30, so they came around lunch time. I just had to walk down. They park over there, so I had to walk down and I was done.”"
The Abingdon-based organization's new kitchen provides home-cooked, hot meals and a van delivery service that travels through 10 southwest Virginia counties.
"It fed a lot of children this summer in these communities that we've never been able to do before," Feeding America President/CEO Pamela Irvine said.
New state funding and support from local businesses helped build the kitchen and expand services.
"We're living in a society where affordable food is challenging because of families’ incomes," Irvine said.
The resource is about food, but also about community contact.
"It not only improves the quality of their food, but it gives them hope," Irvine said.
The Feeding Southwest Virginia Home Harvest Kitchen runs from 10 a.m. until 1p.m., and the Abingdon Kitchen runs Mondays through Fridays from around 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.