Loudoun Hunger Breaks Wall on Human Services Hub

BY RENSS GREENE rgreene@loudounnow.com

As the nonprofit prepares to grow its space into a hub for human services nonprofits, Loudoun Hunger Relief held a wall-breaking—rather than ground-breaking—ceremony Monday, March 20.

After years of effort and planning, work is underway to build a nonprofit hub bringing together some of the most essential services for people and families in need: Loudoun Hunger Relief, Loudoun Literacy Council, Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, Crossroads Jobs, and the Loudoun Education Foundation. The Loudoun Humane Society, while not locating offices in the new hub, will continue supporting the pet pantry inside Loudoun Hunger Relief.

“We don’t stand alone. We stand with everyone in this room and with everyone who isn’t in this room, who has been shoulder to shoulder with us, dedicated to partnership and collaboration for the great good,” Loudoun Hunger Relief President and CEO Jennifer Montgomery said. “Here’s what I know for sure: this pandemic demonstrated the need for community-centered innovation, and that we are better together.”

The new 13,500-square-foot space will continues on page 38

But uncertainty around a state funding shortfall still hangs over the school budget. Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration and the General Assembly have yet to fill a funding gap created by a Virginia Department of Education error, and instead have compounded it. The Youngkin administration’s error resulted in $7.4 million less for Loudoun County Public Schools in fiscal year 2024 than the district had been advised to expect. The General Assembly’s “skinny budget” adopted in February filled that shortfall for the current fiscal year 2023, but did not address the shortfall for fiscal year 2024, and additional changes to

COUNTY BUDGETS continues on page 39