The Beach Bags food drive held March 23 brought in the largest donations to date, including 6,832 pounds of food and $10,940 in donations from the community. The Virginia Beach Education Foundation (VBEF) partnered with Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS), Pembroke Mall, Southern Bank and WTKR News 3 to host the 12-hour drive last week.

Food drive volunteers were able to use the day’s donations to make 1,200 Beach Bags on-site and remaining food donations will be stored to prepare more Beach Bags in the future. Southern Bank donated $5,000 to support the program and Old Donation School student Josh Darrow, who volunteered at the event, donated $2,000. Darrow’s donation is a portion of his winnings from his February appearance on the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

“The success of the Beach Bags program is entirely due to our community’s overwhelming generosity and support,” said Dr. Amber Rach, VBCPS director of community engagement. “In addition to our event sponsors, we are grateful to California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, Krispy Kreme, No Frill Grill and Pembroke Pizza for providing snacks and meals for our food drive volunteers. The record-breaking support we received from our donors and volunteers demonstrates their continued caring and dedication to meet the needs of our food-insecure students since the inception of this important program.”

The Beach Bags program was established in 2009 to provide meals and healthy snacks to students who may not have enough to eat during weekends and school vacations. More than 62,000 Beach Bags have been distributed since the program’s launch, and more than 10,000 Beach Bags have been provided to students in need this school year.

The program is supported entirely by donations from community members, area businesses and school organizations. Tax-deductible monetary donations can be made through the VBEF and food donations are accepted year-round at the School Administration Building located at 2512 George Mason Drive in Virginia Beach.

For more information about the Beach Bags program, to make a donation or sign up to volunteer, contact the Office of Community Engagement at 757-263-1936 or [email protected].