January 9, 2008

 

 

Dear {                      }:

 

 

 

I am writing to ask for your full support in granting $2,000,000 to help feed Virginia’s less fortunate men, women, and children through the Food Bank Nutritional Program. In recent years, Virginia food banks have experienced a continual drop in federal support. USDA surplus commodities have plunged in dramatic fashion. In turn, our ability to provide our member agencies with nutritious food items has also diminished because millions of pounds of additional healthy food choices have been absent from food bank shelves.

Your support would allow these faith-based organizations, after school programs, elderly feeding programs, soup kitchens, and civic organizations to increase the capacity at which they can accept, transport and refrigerate large volumes of food.

 

I can tell you that all we are feeling the pinch. Demand is up, and supply is down. With the rising cost of living, more of the working poor are finding it hard to make ends meet, and they’re coming to us for help.  I can personally speak to this urgent need,  Your support will help us continue to meet our mission, and enable us to more effectively feed people in need.

 

It is imperative that we are continually able to provide nutritional items to the hungry, as it has been proven that the lack of nutrition leads to poor health, which affects individuals in every aspect of their lives. Adults can become less productive on the job due to poor nutrition, and children can lose focus in school, make poor grades and become tardy because of nutrition deficiency. This leads to difficulty in achieving higher education and therefore may impact their ability to get a supportive job. Ultimately, poor nutrition can contribute to the cycle of poverty. We need to give each child, each senior, each family and each individual a fighting chance, and empower them to make a future for themselves. We can do this with your help, and that’s why this funding is so important, not only for our organizations, but for the lives of every less fortunate person who lives in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  

 

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration of my request.

 

 

 

 

Respectfully yours,