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PAGE 2 |DECEMBER 2 - 8, 2021

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Combating Food Insecurity in Fairfax County as Winter Holidays Approach

by Alex Russell

With Thanksgiving over, the first of a number of major wintertime holidays has once again come and gone. Starting in early December, holidays like Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s will undoubtedly bring a sense of joy and ease to many in the Falls Church community following what has been a predominately difficult year.

However, the winter holiday season does not signify the same thing for all households, especially following the widespread and detrimental economic difficulties following the recently receding peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Even though Fairfax is one of the wealthiest counties in the state of Virginia, the unfortunate reality is that many families in Fairfax County — and in fact across the country — have been burdened with food insecurity and many others will continue to face this serious problem as time goes on.

Specifically, food insecurity does not mean that a certain household is always battling this issue; it can be temporary or it can come up on a slightly recurring basis. However, the lack of access to nutritious food, as well as a household’s need to make trade-offs between basic needs like paying rent and medical bills and purchasing nutritionally adequate food only exacerbates related stress and can lead to the development of severe mental and physical health problems.

For all the societal strides made in 21st century America, immutable factors like one’s race and/or ethnic background are still overwhelmingly large factors in terms of food insecurity. Age is another immutable characteristic that greatly affects this problem.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that lack of access to high-quality and nutritionally abundant food can lead to increased early-childhood hospitalizations, poor bone density, increased risk of obesity and diabetes, and increased risk of depression and anxiety, among other illnesses. Seniors are another demographic that is at higher risk for food insecurity, with the high cost of medication as well as mobility issues being some of the major factors attributed to seniors not having proper access to healthy food options.

Feeding America, a nonprofit organization and nationwide network of approximately 200 food banks feeding more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based services, found that 60 percent of seniors have to choose between buying food or paying their utility bills — a decision that becomes even harder during the colder holiday months.

In terms of physical health, when a household opts for cheaper but unhealthier food options, this can lead to life-long battles with diseases like obesity, diabetes, and a variety of cardiac problems. In terms of mental health, stress related to not being able to afford necessary, nutritious food can intensify to such a degree that both immediate and long-term mental and physical health become jeopardized. In fact, anxiety and depression are two of the mental health conditions that have been linked to food insecurity.

In the Little City, Falls Church Presbyterian Church, off of East Broad Street, has been pitching in to help fight food insecurity in their local community.

“In the heart of the city since 1848,” F.C. Presbyterian Church is the result of a long history of local Presbyterians assembling to worship in the area. The Welcome Table program, a twicea-month dinner program for those who suffer from hunger and food insecurity, is one of their largest and longest-running community outreach and support efforts.

Beginning in 2011, Welcome Table took place once-a-month, providing visitors with freshlyprepared, nutritious food served up in-person at the church on ceramic dishes — organized and operated completely by volunteers.

Gail Robarge, chair of the Welcome Table Planning Team, offered up some insight into the program and shared how during the beginning, F.C. Presbyterian Church “had an interim pastor” who “had been involved in meal programs previously. Since we had space and a good kitchen facility, he and his wife encouraged us in launching a regular free meal for anyone in the community.”

Robarge continued, “Over the years, we have gotten to know many of our guests…the fact that they make the effort to come for a meal and a small gift card shows how great the need is.”

“The initial dinners we offered…started out very small but grew steadily. We had perhaps 12 – 15 guests at our first dinner. We served food from 6 – 7 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We focused on providing healthy, interesting recipes, and each meal was a different menu. We worked to get the word out through various local service organizations, and within a short time, we were regularly serving 50 – 60 people.”

Robarge shares how the church surveyed their Welcome Table guests “about what other things might be useful to them, and based on the responses” began offering toiletry items to those in need. Over time, the church was able to “add a $10 Giant gift card” to their monthly services.

“As word spread about the gift card, our regular attendance quickly grew to about 300 a meal. At some point, we added a second dinner per month.”

This was back in 2013, when the program expanded its services and ever since, F.C. Presbyterian Church has been serving dinners on the first and third Wednesday of every month, from 4 – 6 p.m.

When asked about how the holidays affect the Welcome Table program, Robarge shared that “the number of guests doesn’t change all that much over the holidays.” She added how the church has been “fortunate in the dedicated, ongoing volunteer support from FCPC members.”

The church has been welcoming of “volunteers from throughout Falls Church to participate — signing up is easy through the FCPC website. Volunteers are always needed and welcome, no experience necessary.”

As December approaches, Robarge says that their biggest concern during the colder months is “the weather.”

“We do our best to have the food ready and packaged so that our guests won’t have to wait in the cold for long. We try hard to stick to our regular schedule, and we hardly ever cancel due to bad weather.”

As a result of the Covid pandemic, F.C. Presbyterian has been serving to-go meals to visitors (in an effort to maintain social distancing and curb infection rates). The meals are handed out outside the church building; the church suggests guests wear a face mask and practice social distancing of at least 6 feet.

Regarding their work during the pandemic, Robarge shares that early on, when “little was known about how the virus was spreading, we gave out small bags with snacks, toiletries, and the $10 gift card, and all distributions were done outside. After some months, we decided we could cook again — as long as we limited the indoor staff to 10 or less (due to restrictions on gatherings of groups) and we served the to-go meals outside.”

“We made many adaptations over time, as we learned more about what works for to-go meals. Our recipes tend to be simpler, so that prep and cooking time is reduced and packaging is not too complicated. We start packing up food by 3:30 p.m. This is because we changed our hours to start serving earlier, hoping that would avoid people gathering and then waiting in line for food. It helped, but there is always a line at the door when we start serving at 4 p.m.”

“For over a year,” Robarge continues, “we provided the meal and $10 gift card twice a month, as we recognized that many of our guests were in dire circumstances. This resulted in the number of guests at each meal climbing to 600 – 700.” She also highlights how “the generosity of FCPC members and others in the Falls Church community enabled us to sustain the extra gift cards through June of 2021.”

At the first Wednesday dinner, volunteers offer each adult guest a full-size toiletry item; at the third Wednesday dinner, each adult guest is offered a $10 grocery store gift card.

Those wishing to volunteer their time and help out those in their community who struggle with food insecurity and lack of access to nutritional food can sign up online at https://signup.com/ client/invitation2/secure/109376/ false#/invitation.

In addition to the lead roles of head chef and grocery shopper, potential volunteers can sign up for setup, utensil wrapping, meal prep, meal packaging, food distribution, cleanup, and organic waste transporter. These roles run from 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.

For those who are unable to volunteer but still wish to help, the church accepts donations of full-size toiletry items as well as money for Giant Food gift cards. Toiletry items can be dropped off at the church virtually any time; monetary donations can be mailed to the church (Falls Church Presbyterian, 225 East Broad St., Falls Church, VA 22046) or made online at https:// www.fallschurchpresby.org/giving/.

December’s Welcome Table meals are as scheduled: first Wednesday’s to-go meals were distributed outside in front of the church on Wednesday, Dec 1 from 4 – 6 p.m. and third Wednesday’s to-go meals will be distributed Dec 15, same time and place.

More information on the Falls Church Presbyterian Church Welcome Table program can be found online at fallschurchpresby.org.

The Falls Church Presbyterian Church Drop & Dash Food Drive supports the Knox Presbyterian Food Pantry through Falls Church Community Service Council, Inc. by collecting food and household items the third Sunday of each month from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Those wishing to donate items can make their drop-offs at the aforementioned time at the front of F.C. Presbyterian Church. Donations are sorted and delivered to Knox the next day. For more information, visit https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/5080448afad283-drop.

The following is a list of food providers in the Falls Church area that are currently accepting fresh produce:

Columbia Baptist Church (3245 Glen Carlyn Road, Falls Church, VA 22041), which can be contacted at foodpantry@columbiabaptist.org and accepts food Fridays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Falls Church Community Service Council, Knox Presbyterian Church (7416 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA 22042), which can be contacted by phone at 703-237-2562 or through email at fcswecare@aol. com and accepts items Monday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Wexford Manor Community Resource Center (2802 Hollywood Road, Falls Church, VA 22043). The Community Resource Center accepts donations Monday – Thursday. Contact Abby Gurara at 571-253-3399 to coordinate donation drop-off.

PAGE 4 | DECEMBER 2 - 8, 2021

LOCAL

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

Watch Night Returns This New Year’s Eve in the Little City

Continued from Page 1

friendly way to celebrate the new year in a safe environment.

Watch Night was created by the City of Falls Church Tricentennial Committee, produced by a CityTricentennial Committee established in 1995 to celebrate 300 years of Falls Church history. The late Barbara Cram was a key organizer from the start.

Local nonprofits and businesses stepped in to help make the event a success such as the Village Society, the Tinner Hill Foundation and the Victorian Society at Falls Church who helped by donating venues, money and their time.

After its success in the first year, the event quickly became an annual tradition that has happened rain or shine for two dozen years.

Due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, the celebration was cancelled in 2020. Regardless of weather conditions, huge crowds turned out every year since the event began— making 2020 the first year without.

As the City has grown, so has the event with various business, religious, non-profit, volunteer, and arts, theater, culture and history groups supporting the annual tradition.

Through the support of these organizations, the event continues to remain free for the public with opportunities to support local businesses by buying food or other items and donating to nonprofits.

The Little City CATCH Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to arts, theater, culture and history in the city, is the main sponsor of the event this year and has been for many years in the past since it was started almost a decade ago.

While legendary Falls Church civic organizer Dave Eckert started the event and ran it until 2006 (when he moved), it was then taken over by Barbara Cram until her passing in 2019. Now, Keith Thurston is in charge of organizing the iconic event.

The final details of the event this year are still being worked out but the event is on and will be happening on Broad Street starting at 7 p.m. on New Years Eve.

Some venues, vendors and businesses have already committed to the event while others are still in discussion. Many local small businesses were greatly impacted by the pandemic and are unsure if they will be able to support the event this year or not. A finalized list of vendors, businesses and live musicians is expected to be released after Christmas and updates will be posted soon on the Watch Night website at watchnightfallschurch. com/.

Mark your calendars for December 31 because the event will be back and promises to be better than ever!

AFTER BEING UNABLE to celebrate Watch Night as a community last year, citizens look forward to another celebration like this on New Year’s Eve. (P����: G��� M�����)

Helping Our Clients Buy, Sell and Invest! Kathy Pippin, Realtor

Website: Kathypippinproperties.com Email: Kathy@Kathypippinproperties.com Call/Text: 703-408-0838

6707 Old Dominion Dr. #315 McLean, VA 22101

Licensed in VA

Please SCAN the QR code to learn more about us!

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS | FCNP.COM

LOCAL

PAGE 5 | DECEMBER 2 - 8, 2021

News-Press Hails Kaye with Lifetime Honor for Contributions

Continued from Page 1

contributor to her success as a realtor over the years, as she locked in a half-page ad on the back page of the paper beginning with that first edition and continuing non-stop until the Great Recession a decade ago caused her not to stop, but simply to downsize to a quarter page.

Those ads made Merelyn a local celebrity and quickly home sellers realized they had to jump on board her iconic ads to enjoy the maximum effect. Her loyalty to the News-Press persisted through the ups and downs of the market to the present day.

From Shepherdstown, West Virginia, where she graduated college, met and married her husband Art, she moved to Falls Church in 1965 and has lived here since. She got her real estate license in 1970, and when she was approached by a young and inexperienced ad salesman for the yet-to-be-published News-Press in early 1991, her instincts told her not to pass up the opportunity.

Her business exploded as a result. With David Howell of the larger realtor firm she aligned with negotiating annual contract renewals with the paper, and the unyielding support of husband Art until his passing in 2016, she supplemented her iconic back page ads with special spreads inside the paper for special projects.

In fact, it was her commitment to spend extra for full color in her ad that became the centerfold for the paper in 1993 that marked a turning point. The News-Press had never done color up to that point, but her decision to add it changed everything. The color in the center of the paper allowed color to also be used on the front page, according to how papers are printed, and so for the first time, the News-Press was adorned with a front-page news photo (not an earth-changing event, just kids diving into a local swimming pool). It suddenly made the paper look wellto-do, as from that day forward the constant refrain about whether the paper would survive suddenly disappeared from local discourse.

In more recent years she has shared her business with her daughter, Karin Morrison.

Merelyn Kaye’s long-standing relationship with the News-Press has always been about business, about a mutually-beneficial and respectful business relationship, which in the business world is as it should be. A mutual admiration society, perhaps. But throughout her burgeoning success as the City’s Number One realtor, she has also been, as Charlie Moore and Keith Thurston of the Historic Falls Church’s board, attested, “a stalwart supporter of the Falls Church community fabric with her participation and quiet financial support of many organizations.”

They wrote, “Beside her long term commitment to the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS), she was a significant financial supporter of the founding of the Victorian Society of Falls Church. She was also the key sponsor for the launch and operation of the New Year’s Eve Watch Night in Falls Church for over a decade, and without her support in its early years, “the annual celebration could not have occurred,” according to Thurston.

Working quietly and often behind the scenes, she has been on the board of directors of Historic Falls Church, Inc., since its founding in the 1970s and has been its president since 1995. The organization works to preserve historic properties in Falls Church, holding preservation and conservation easements on many of the large and visible historic homes in the City.

Architect Charles Moore said, “Merelyn is the consummate real estate professional working for the community’s good. She has always provided her expertise and her real estate services on a pro bono basis for preservation efforts.”

“It has been clear that she has been among a small group of influential community leaders quietly working to save the character of the City one house at a time,” Thurston added.

But it has been the consistent and ongoing (to the present day) role of Merelyn Kaye and the reputation she developed as the City’s foremost realtor achieved through her relationship with the News-Press that formed the basis for her many community achievements in her adopted hometown.

For this reason, we are truly moved to present her before the readership of the News-Press as our first ever choice for designation as a News-Press Lifetime Honoree.

MERELYN KAYE is the �irst recipient of the Falls Church NewsPress’ Lifetime Honor. (C������� P����)