A Reston-based national food brand and multiple nonprofits are distributing thousands of pounds of food to combat food insecurity in Fairfax County and the broader Northern Virginia region.
Last week, the American canned seafood company StarKist, the D.C.-based nonprofit Feed the Children and Reston nonprofit Cornerstones announced they collected over 100,000 pounds of food during their third annual Summer Food Rally on June 6 in Sterling.
The food, which included hundreds of boxes of StarKist products, and other household essentials were distributed to five local nonprofits following the rally, according to a press release from StarKist.
The five pantries that received the donations were:
- Community Lodgings
- Dulles South Food Pantry
- Fellowship Square
- LINK Against Hunger
- The South Lakes High School PTSA Food Pantry
A spokesperson for StarKist told FFXnow that each organization transported the boxes back to their facilities after the event and plans to distribute the food as needed throughout the region.
That included a delivery to Fellowship Square’s Hunters Woods Fellowship House, a 224-unit apartment building for seniors with low, fixed incomes in Reston.
“With the Summer Food Rally…seniors in our Fellowship Square communities get the nutritious food they need to thrive,” Fellowship Square CEO Christy Zeitz said in the release. “This contributes to healthier residents and to a healthier Fellowship Square community.”
Cornerstones said the donations are crucial at a time when “thousands of families and seniors are struggling with food insecurity.”
“Neighborhood food pantries and feeding program partners across the region are seeing a surge in the number of individuals and families seeking food assistance,” Cornerstones CEO Kerrie Wilson said in the release. “According to the 2023 Capital Area Food Bank Survey, an estimated 24% of Fairfax County residents are food insecure.”
Over the past 15 years, StarKist says it has contributed over 1,045,134 pounds of tuna and chicken products to help food-insecure children and families across the U.S., and more than $939,000 to support Feed the Children’s disaster and emergency response efforts.
StarKist relocated its longtime headquarters in Pittsburgh to Reston Town Center in 2022. The company first partnered with Cornerstones and Feed the Children to distribute food to local nonprofits that summer, and a second event was held last year at St. John Neumann Catholic Community Church (11900 Lawyers Road) in Reston.
“StarKist is committed to helping alleviate food insecurity for families in need,” StarKist Vice President of Marketing Tom Aslin said in the release. “Through our StarKist Cares corporate giving efforts, we understand the devastating impact of food insecurity on lower-income communities. Here in Northern Virginia, we are proud to partner with Feed the Children and Cornerstones to combat hunger.”
