NORFOLK, Va. — The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia opened a food hub in the Berkeley neighborhood of Norfolk.
This area has been known as a food desert for quite some time. Berkeley residents say it is needed in the area.
"It will help the community," a Berkley resident said. "If they giving out a hand over here, I’m go take it."
"There should be more food options in Berkeley," another Berkley resident said. "We often have to go outside our neighborhood to get all the grocery options we need."
The area didn't have any grocery stores until 2021.
"This community is what we know as a food dessert" Leah Williams-Rumbley, with Foodbank of Southeastern Virgininia, said. "It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no grocery store at all. Sometimes a a food dessert exist when the neighbors that live in the community can’t afford to shop at the grocery store that’s there."
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The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia teamed up with Sentara to address food access in Berkley.
Patients who receive treatment from Sentara’s clinic can go next door to the food hub to receive groceries.
"They go over to the clinic, see a healthcare professional and then they come over here for a food pharmacy type of experience," Williams-Rumbley said. "If they’re pre-diabetic and the nurse says they need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, then they come here."
The food hub is also open to the public. You can come once a week to get free groceries.
It’s open during these hours:
- Tuesday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m
- Wednesday 3 p.m. - 7 p.m
- Thursday 3 p.m. - 7 p.m
- Saturday 9 a.m.- 12 p.m
The food hub is located at 701 South Main Street in Norfolk.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said that you had to show your ID in order to receive food from Community Feed, but it was clarified that anyone going into the Community Feed to receive groceries does not need to show a form of identification.
