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Going Hungry No Longer an Option
Going Hungry No Longer an Option
By M.J. McAteer
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For Elizabeth Ford, BetterALife Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to feeding needy local children, is a personal cause. That’s because the founder and president of the Purcellville-based charity grew up hungry herself.
“We didn’t have food at home,” Ford said of her early life in affluent Reston. Her single mother suffered from depression, she explained, and lacked the wherewithal to access food pantries or subsidized lunches to keep her daughter consistently fed.
Elizabeth Ford
Photo by M.J. McAteer
As a result, Ford remembers being tortured by the aromas emanating from the school cafeteria on those frequent days when she didn’t have enough money to buy lunch.
“Teenagers don’t like to tell anyone” about their situation, she said, so instead of trying to get help, Ford started skipping classes and hanging out at the 7-Eleven, where she would bum quarters to buy nachos.
In ninth grade, she dropped out of school altogether, and, only later, after some rough years, earned a high school diploma and college degree that allowed her to become a government contractor.
In 2016, she founded BetterALife to help children who might be experiencing the same hunger that she did.
BetterALife started out by donating funds to the lunch accounts of needy children at Sterling Elementary, where 60 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
Yet, some children still fall through the cracks in the public assistance system and go hungry. Perhaps their parents are illegal and afraid to attract the attention of immigration officials. Perhaps they make a bit too much to qualify for aid, or, maybe, like Ford’s mother, they are just ill-equipped to nurture a child.
In any case, for just $35 a month, Ford said she can provide 100 breakfast meals, 100 lunches, 100 single-serve milks and 300 snacks to a child over the course of a year.
She has subsequently extended BetterALife’s donation program to nine schools, including Leesburg Elementary where she “has been a great resource in assisting us with feeding and school supplies,” said Principal Shawn Lacey.
When Covid hit and schools closed, BetterALife retooled and began going door-to-door on Saturdays to deliver meals in low-income communities. “I’ve never had a door closed on me,” Ford said. Last January, with the help of a $15,000 grant, Ford opened a food pantry in Purcellville and stocked it with supplies both purchased and donated. The pantry is within walking distance of 700 residents living in Section 8 subsidized housing and is close to a bus line.
Unlike many food banks, BetterA Life does not require its patrons to prove need. And rather than being handed a bag of already selected food when they come in, people are allowed to pick out whatever they want from the shelves. They can come as often as they like, too.
“You need food, you can come and get it,” Ford said. “No one has abused the privilege.”
Having a storefront provides a staging area for BetterALife’s other charitable efforts, including a program that provides children with new backpacks loaded with school supplies.
Close to 300 people showed up one Saturday this summer to claim a bag. The Purcellville Police and local high school students also partner with BetterALife in a weekly Homework Club at the pantry, which provides children with academic help and a hot meal.
BetterALife sponsors an annual toy drive, too, and a coat drive is in the works. Once a month, Ford hosts a cooking class to teach people how to make simple hot-plate fare such as scrambled eggs and chicken nuggets.
Ford estimated that she spends 40 to 60 hours a week on BetterALife despite having a full-time job and 11-year-old twins.
“My husband is very supportive,” she said, adding that much of her time goes into keeping BetterALife funded. “I apply for a grant a day,” she said. “I don’t stop.” Like Ford and everyone else associated with the charity, Kellyn Kellogg volunteers as the chair of BetterALife’s seven-member board. She provides hands-on help with food deliveries and event planning, as well.
“Elizabeth makes you want to jump in and help her succeed,” she said. “She has an amazing devotion to people in need, and she does it with humility and compassion.” Principal Lacey seconded that opinion. “Elizabeth has a passion for people,” she said. “We need more like her in the community.”
