Thanksgiving food packages for over 460 families sit in the Moose Family Center in Lorton, ready for distribution. Photo by Tim Peterson.
Kathy Noone stood alone, surrounded by Thanksgiving baskets ready to feed over 400 families. The Lorton resident is Director of Volunteers for the Lorton Community Action Center (LCAC), and though she looked capable, she didn’t fill the bags all by herself. Earlier on Nov. 23, a team of volunteers worked “better than a well-oiled machine” to sort donated food into nearly identical combinations at the Moose Family Center in Lorton for delivery and pickup.
In all, their efforts will help 462 families around Lorton, Fairfax Station, Fort Belvoir and Southeast Fairfax County enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner -- 154 of those were home-delivered by community volunteers and 43 went to families with active duty military struggling to make ends meet amid the area’s high cost of living.
According to Lesley MacDonald, director of Community Investment at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, Fairfax County may have a well-to-do reputation, but “deep pockets of poverty exist across the Northern Virginia region,” she said in an email.
The Community Foundation provides grants to organizations addressing critical community needs in child and youth development, education, health, mental health and aging, poverty relief and military personnel and their families.
“In 2012, an estimated 129,138 people lived at or below the Federal Poverty Level,” MacDonald continued. “There is general agreement that families need an income of about twice the Federal Poverty Level ($47,700 per year for a family of four in 2013).”
FOR THE PERIOD from 2008 to 2012, the U.S. Census data show 3.5 percent of Lorton residents were living below the poverty level. So it’s good news that 462 families reached with Thanksgiving baskets is a new record for Noone’s 17-year tenure.
“When we first started, we did 50 families,” said Noone. “ It just gets bigger, better, more streamlined. Between volunteers, community organizations and staff, it is just a phenomenal outreach, the fact that so many people come together and give so generously of either time, talent or donation.”
Stacie Desper of Gaithersburg is an LCAC case manager. She joined Noone at the Moose Family Center to prepare to distribute Thanksgiving baskets to clients.
“A lot of our clients have Section 8 housing assistance, food stamps, Medicaid and [supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children] WIC,” she said. “If rent increases with a new job, food stamps decrease and child care assistance decreases. So now they're working, but you have someone think ‘I was just better off not working,’ especially if you have three to five kids, are a single mom. What do you do?”
LCAC provides emergency relief assistance in the form of food, basic home needs and money, and also helps counsel clients on pursuing employment. They cycle through roughly 700 volunteers at various times throughout the year.
THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS with the business community, neighborhood groups and the faith community, LCAC is able to serve meals to upwards of 280 people per week, as well as provide legal services, English as a second language classes and courses on nutrition.
“We ultimately want to help these families have more economic security so they don’t need a basket next year,” said Andrea Clay, LCAC Director of Development. “We understand giving a basket or food at the pantry meets an immediate need, but that doesn’t really move them, move the needle. We want to give them some skills and knowledge so they can secure a better life for their family.”
Noone and LCAC are a well-established conduit for the donations they receive, but Noone never forgets the group effort that’s required to pull off record-setting outreach.
“Seeing the joy on the faces of our clients, sometimes you almost feel guilty,” she said, “when they're thanking and saying God bless you. I know it wasn't just me, I couldn't do this alone. It takes a team, a community and makes you feel blessed that you can do it.”
Having just recovered from the Thanksgiving outreach, Noone and LCAC will look to replicate their record success for Christmas, while adding a goal of 1,700 presents to offer their registered clients. The collection and distribution date for that outreach is Dec. 20. For more information on where and how to volunteer or donate, visit www.lortonaction.org.