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The FACES Food Pantry has received a generous $20,000 grant from the Centra Foundation to improve the diet and health of more than 2,000 low-income residents of the region by providing them with plentiful produce as well as additional protein and dairy products. The Centra grant will enable FACES to increase the volume of healthy food it obtains at a steep discount from FeedMore (the Central Virginia Food Bank) and other local sources capable of supplying sufficient quantities at a reasonable price.

FACES was founded in 1989 by a group including ministers, farmers, housewives, teachers and others with the mission of distributing donated food to local families in need. Thanks to a grant from FeedMore, FACES now has its own building located on Commerce Road next to the YMCA. During the 2021 calendar year, FACES served nearly 1,050 families with 2,100 individuals.

Joanna and Paul Baker, who serve as co-presidents of FACES, offered their thanks to the Centra Foundation, noting that “FACES is located in a region where nearly one in five live below the poverty rate. It is our goal always to provide our clients with good, nutritious food and the Centra Foundation grant will enable us to do our job better.” They also thanked Ellery Sedgwick, the immediate past president of FACES, who oversaw the submission of the grant application to the Centra Foundation by FACES. “Ellery Sedgwick has been a central player in the success of FACES for over 30 years,” they noted, “and we are fortunate to continue to benefit from his insights and expertise.”