CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Buffalow Family and Friends, a nonprofit serving neighbors in need in Chesapeake and across Hampton Roads, is facing financial difficulties and turning to the community for help.
Jonathan McNair, the organization's public relations and marketing director, said funding has become a pressing concern.
"Being that it's March now, funds are drastically low for us," McNair said.
The nonprofit has received $400,000 per year from the state for the past two years, but McNair said that amount falls short of what is needed to sustain operations.
"We are grateful that the state granted us what they have, but in some cases with our monthly operating budget, that's not enough. We need more so that we can have critical staff and be able to meet the needs of our community in a greater way," McNair said.
Volunteers like Carter Wright say the people Buffalow serves are counting on the organization for essentials.
"Absolutely. It affects the little things. The people that we give food to, hygiene kits to, expect a certain quality or amount from us. And we do our darndest to make sure that we're doing that," Wright said.
Wright is currently working on renovations to an upgraded food pantry. McNair said the expanded space is one of several projects where community support is needed.
"We're actually standing in our upgraded pantry. This went from being on the side of the building to a larger room in our multi-purpose facility in Suite B. And now we are in Suite A, in a way larger area for our pantry that we need our community to help us fill up," McNair said.
Delegate Bonita Anthony, who represents the 92nd District in the House of Delegates, covering portions of Norfolk and Chesapeake, said Buffalow Family and Friends is one of many community partners working to address food insecurity across the region — and that its work goes beyond simply providing food.
"It's not just about food scarcity with them. It's about infrastructure," Anthony said.
Anthony said the organization's daily operations set it apart from other nonprofits.
"Anytime that our constituents have a need, I can actually pick up a phone or redirect our constituents to them, and they provide those services. Even other nonprofits actually send their clients over to Buffalow Family and Friends," Anthony said.
Anthony, who serves on the commission to End Hunger, said she originally requested $500,000 for Buffalow Family and Friends during this legislative session. She said she is grateful the nonprofit was not cut entirely given the state's tight budget constraints, which she attributed in part to fallout from the federal government.
"We knew that Virginia was working on a very tight budget. So we knew that what we asked for still had to have some restraint," Anthony said.
In the approved House version of the budget, Buffalow Family and Friends was kept at the same $400,000 yearly appropriation level it received in 2024.
"We're grateful for that, right? Because they didn't have to be kept into the budget, and we know that we were riding on a lot of constraints," Anthony said.
Anthony added that the organization's relationships with members across both chambers helped secure its continued funding.
"Folks that are also on Senate Finance and Appropriations know their work as well. And they were able to get that initial funding because of the relationships they have built with members across the chambers, as well as across the aisles," Anthony said.
The House and Senate are currently negotiating their budgets. Anthony said the outcome for Buffalow Family and Friends is expected to be known within the next two weeks, when the two chambers are set to finalize their negotiations. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn on March 14.
"This is a very strategic investment that we do as a state to make sure that we have health and stability and economic resilience within our own communities. And so this is one of the ways that we help as a state," Anthony said.
McNair says Buffalow Family and Friends is thankful for the funding from the state they have received, but community support is always crucial. Buffalow Family and Friends is always accepting monetary and food donations from neighbors. For more information on Buffalow Family and Friends, click here.
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