ALIVE! Welcomes New Truck That Will Increase Capacity to Alleviate Food Insecurity

ALEXANDRIA, VA-ALIVE! leaders, leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and members of the Alexandria community came together during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning to celebrate the arrival of a 26-foot refrigerated food truck at ALIVE!’s Old Town warehouse. Jennifer Ayers, Executive Director at the food and housing insecurity organization, said that the truck will make an immediate and impactful difference to ALIVE! and in the Alexandria community.

“Our other four trucks are each 16 feet long,” Ayers said. “This larger truck allows us to transport more pallets, more furniture, and has a ramp and lift, thus increasing our ability to deliver more efficiently and effectively. And because its refrigerated, it significantly increases our capacity to transport and maintain cold goods.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints donated the truck. Bishop Zach Parks, representing the Alexandria 2nd Ward of the Church, applauded ALIVE! and its volunteers: “ALIVE! is an incredible organization – a testament to the ability of an interfaith community to help people lift themselves out of hard times. We express our appreciation to ALIVE!, to its leadership, its member congregations, and the many volunteers who selflessly devote their time and talents to its important work.”

Ayers said that the need in the Alexandria community, which spiked during COVID, has not significantly receded. “We serve approximately 21,000 individuals each month, providing food, housing, and financial assistance in many ways, including through our last Saturday food drives; with the assistance of our essential partners; by providing direct support to food pantries, recreation centers, and schools; and at our two food hubs. We received the truck last week, and are immediately putting it into the field.”

The November 12 ribbon cutting included Ayers, Rolf Blank (President of ALIVE!), Maggie Haslam (ALIVE! Congressional Representative to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), Bishop Parks, and Nancy Lopez (ALIVE! Furniture Program Chair), who said the new truck would help ALIVE! continue providing “miracles” for local residents: “Recently, a truck like this picked up a bed that a woman had slept in when she was growing up. It feels like a miracle to know that this truck can bring that same bed to a different little girl who otherwise would be sleeping on the floor.”

Sean Casey, Sheriff of Alexandria, who noted that his officers will sometimes assist with food delivery and traffic control, said that, “ALIVE! is definitely one of the great organizations we have here in the City.” That organization, whose mission is to alleviate the suffering caused by poverty and to dramatically improve the lives of those in need in the City of Alexandria, can now do more, thanks to the addition of the truck and the involvement and assistance of many of its neighbors.

“That word ‘neighbor’ perfectly captures the work of ALIVE! because ALIVE! involves neighbors serving neighbors in the most literal sense of the word,” Bishop Parks said. He noted that since 2020, members of the Church’s Alexandria congregations have organized 11 trucks sent from Salt Lake City with 40,000 pounds of food to ALIVE! and various partner organizations in Alexandria. “Ultimately the partnership is not about how many cubic feet can be carried by a truck or how many pounds of food are distributed,” Bishop Parks said. “It is about how we care for our neighbors, one by one, person by person.”

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