NORFOLK, Va. — According to the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, one in every eight Virginians are facing food insecurity, and the government shutdown has worsened this problem for many families across Hampton Roads. Old Dominion University staff and students collected and donated more than 100,000 non-perishable food items from August through October through their Monarchs Give Back campaign.
Amulya Sai Jonnalagadda was an ODU international student and is now an ODU staff member and volunteer for the Monarchs Give Back campaign.
"I feel like it's a circle now. That I was getting help from them, now I'm giving back," Jonnalagadda said.
Dr. Millicent Lee, Director of Community Relations at ODU, explains how the program works.
"What it is, is collaboration between Norfolk Public Schools and our actual Monarch Pantry, where we invite others within the community, within our university community, to actually give back non-perishable items or donate monetarily online," Lee said.
The donations go directly to families of Norfolk Public Schools students from the five NPS Equity and Excellence Learning Centers, who may be struggling to put food on the table.
When asked if some of those families may also be impacted by the government shutdown, Lee said the need existed before any recent events.
"I can't say that the government shutdown added to it or took away from it. We knew that there was a need before anything happened, right. And so we have always been supporting our school systems, and so the need was always there," Lee said.
While the Monarchs Give Back campaign was not started because of the government shutdown, Lee says the program is there to help people in Norfolk struggling with food insecurity no matter the circumstance.
"We're not just a university that sits in the middle of the city. We give back to it," Lee said.
Lee says ODU's partnership with Norfolk Public Schools will continue even after this campaign wraps up. Jonnalagadda knows will benefit others like it did for her.
"I'm an international student, so going to a grocery store and all is a little bit difficult for me, and the pantry helped a lot during those times," Jonnalagadda said.
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