Supporting Nutrition & Health

Thrive is a network of organizations addressing food security and food access issues. These organizations include farms, food banks and pantries, community gardens, and meals programs — all with the shared goal of helping more people in our community thrive.

Our mission is collectively increase access to affordable, nutritious food in our region through shared learning, informed advocacy, and responsive strategic action.

By working together through the Thrive network, we are able to better address regional needs. Our members share resources and knowledge with one another, allowing us to distribute, prepare, and recover food throughout the NRV more efficiently.

NRV Glean Team sorting turnips

2023-2024 NRV Food Assistance Directory

The NRV Food Assistance Directory contains the details of food assistance programs across the New River Valley in the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski as well as the city of Radford. We hope that community members seeking food assistance find it to be a useful resource to get connected to the assistance they need.

The information in this directory was collected in spring 2023 and it is possible that it may have changed. We recommend contacting the program ahead of time to ensure you have the most up-to-date information.

Cover of the 2023-2024 NRV Food Assistance Directory
Click on the above graphic to view the PDF document.

Understanding the Need

10% of New River Valley families and one in five children in the NRV experience hunger or food hardship.
People diagnosed with diabetes have medical expenditures that are approximately 2.3 times higher than expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.
Approximately 1 in 10 NRV public health care expenditures are attributed to diabetes, resulting in public costs anywhere from $255-$528 per resident annually.
6% of NRV residents lack access to a vehicle and half of NRV residents live more than 2 miles from a grocery store, both of which can limit access to nutritious food.
Access to affordable, locally-sourced foods is growing in the region, but the majority of NRV residents still cannot access or afford local foods.

Building a Culture of Health

Foundations and philanthropists are positioned to do what others cannot –  identify needs, take reasoned risks, pilot innovations, and give financial support. The Community Foundation of the New River Valley is making a long-term commitment to work at the nexus of hunger and health. We will build on the programs already succeeding in the region and help to develop and strengthen collaborations.  Our goal is to connect all NRV families with nutritious and affordable food options that have a positive impact on long-term health.

Thrive, an initiative of the Fund for the NRV will allow the CFNRV to:

Develop a comprehensive understanding of hunger and nutrition related organizations, programs and services in our region.
Reduce the number of organizations working in isolation and establish a food poverty and health network building on good practice.
Build long-term community capacity to address hunger and poverty, and to strengthen the local food system.
Expand funding for projects that will increase food access, improve food distribution, ensure the stability of the food supply, and teach healthy eating habits.
Gather data and evidence to measure progress and to attract further investment.

Our Partners

Carilion NRV Medical Center
Feeding Southwest Virginia
Giles Community Garden
New River Community Action
New River Health District
New River Mount Olivet Methodist Church
NRV Agency on Aging

NRV Glean Team
Plenty!
Radford University
Virginia Cooperative Extension
VT Engage’s Campus Kitchen program
VT Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise
YMCA at Virginia Tech

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