We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Village Harvest

The Village Harvest, Oct. 2023, the end of 9 years

The Village Harvest began with its first distribution in Nov. 2014.  Thus in Oct. 2023, we are measuring 12 months since November, 2022 and the end of 9 years. In Nov. 2023, we will begin the 10th year of the harvest.

For the 12-month period ending Oct. 2023, we served 1012 customers. That is the lowest since Nov 2019 to Oct. 2020  due to the pandemic.  We have been on a declining trend since 2016.  However, 2023’s decline is related to the lower 1st quarter 2023 clients.  For the first quarter, We served only 218 clients in 2023 much lower than in earlier years (2020, 310;2021, 295; 2022, 296)

Reviewing the period after the first quarter (April through Oct) provides a much different result. We served 623 in 2023 (April through Oct). This result exceeded 584 (2022) and 506 (2021) The first quarter of this year was clearly an anomaly that affected the 12-month results and the Harvest’s figures since the first quarter are impressive. The April-Oct figures currently  are below that of earlier years which were a minimum of 800

Read more

Village Harvest at the end of the third quarter, Sept, 2023

The 3rd quarter Harvest trends, 2023 were consistent with the 2nd quarter (April-June) in people served but well above in food provided.  This brought the pounds per person ratio down.

September is the end of the 3rd quarter.  During the 3rd quarter (July through Sept) we served the same number of clients – 262 as the second quarter (April-June). It was above both 2022 and 2021  3rd quarter and 2nd – 251 and 257, respectively.

Food provided at 3,654 pounds was much higher in the third quarter 2023 than the second,   3,457.  3,654 in 2023 for the 3rd quarter was higher than 2022 3,258 and 2021 3,312, respectively as well.

The year-to-date for 2023 remains below 2022 and 2021. This was due to the low numbers of clients in the first quarter 2023. We served 218 in the first quarter 2023 compared to 296 in 2022 and 295 in 2021.  Second and third quarter were much better so the analysis favors an interim approach.

Read more

Village Harvest, Aug. 16, 2023

Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, the day before the Harvest is a work day. 3 main tasks:

This month for Wed’s distribution we had:

  • meat and fish (whole chickens, salmon or pork chops),
  • fresh vegetables ( lettuce, eggplant, corn)
  • canned goods (corn, string beans, pears, beef stew).
  • cooked chicken in packs

Read more

Village Harvest, June 2023 – higher quarter, lower year to date

Quarter 2, 2023, served more people compared to the same quarter 2020-2022. 262 were served compared to 247 and 240 in 2022 and 2021, respectively (2020 was the Pandemic).

However, due to lower turnout in quarter 1, year to date figures through 6 months 2023 were lower than in the previous 2 years. This year we have served 480 clients compared to 543 and 535 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. Additionally, June 2023 was low at 65 compared to 93 last month. It was the lowest monthly since January’s 60.

The amount of the food available for quarter 2 also exceeded earlier quarter 2 periods from previous years. Quarter 2 we had 3,457 pounds available compared to 3,394 and 3,322 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. However, there was lower year to date food. Year to date was 6,370 pounds as of June, 2023 compared to 7,590 and 7,664 in 2022 and 2021 respectively.

An important statistic is food per client expressed in pounds. Year to date it is 13.30 pounds per client compared to 13.98 in 2022 and 14.33 in 2021, a declining trend. One positive is that it continues to exceed most years from 2016-2019. We served more clients in those earlier years, but the pounds per client was lower.

We provided a handout to all our clients with additional food locations:

Mixture of foods. Catherine with the new handout, Papaya

Souper Bowl collections

Today, Feb. 12, 2023, we collected soup from parishioners today plus cards addressed to the recipients to provide additional connections to our Village Harvest food distribution, happening next Wed Feb. 15, 3pm-5pm. We collected about 25 cans and numerous cards. If was not just the donation that was important but also the symbolic bringing of the donation to the altar which we did today. This practice goes back to at least Exodus in the Old Testament when Moses encourages bringing donations forward to the Lord.

Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May

Understanding trends of the Village Harvest in May

We are close to the results of 2021 after 5 months in 2022. For the year (2022) we are at 447 clients compared to last year’s 465. Overall pounds for 2022 are at 6,343 pounds which is close to last year’s 6,364. Like the clients figure it is statistically the same.

Looking at just the last two months together (April and May), however, shows a variation from the two months before that (Feb and March). Basically, Feb and March offset the results of April and May to allow for a similar year to date in May, 2022 to May, 2021.

Read more about the May harvest

Village Harvest, Quarterly Data ending March 31, 2023

Date People Food Pounds Per Person
3/31/2021 295 4342 14.7
6/30/2021 240 3322 13.8
9/30/2021 188 3312 17.6
12/31/2021 276 3327 12.1
3/31/2022 296 4196 14.2
6/30/2022 247 3394 13.7
9/30/2022 251 3258 13.0
12/31/2022 257 4454 17.3
3/31/2023 218 2913 13.4

As of March, 2023 there was a decline in clients from the previous quarter (Dec. 2022) of (39) and first decline since the quarter ending June 2022. The previous quarter saw an increase in clients by 6 people in contast. We began 2023 coming off a 5% increase in 2022 and increase in clients by 52. This quarter was represented a (6.5%) decline in clients.

Food also declined in pounds by (1,541) pounds compared to an increase of 1,196 in the previous quarter. The decline was (30%).

So why the shift in numbers ? Some possibilities. Some people didn’t need assistance or found other support. Possibly the Wednesday wasn’t convenient.

The accounting firm Deloitte writes close to the idea that fewer people required assistance. “Currently, however, the US economy is surprisingly healthy, given that it is coming off of a global pandemic, severe supply chain issues, and a war affecting a key global energy supplier. Labor market conditions alone provide a lot of support for the idea that the economy can achieve the desired soft landing (and, despite claims to the contrary, soft landings are not that unusual).2 Inflation remains a concern, but much less of one than it was a year ago. “

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) emergency allotments (EAs) — temporary benefit increases that Congress enacted to address rising food insecurity and provide economic stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic were still going on this quarter. However, these benefits will be ending with the quarter’s end. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes. ” This will result in a benefit cut for every SNAP household in the jurisdictions that still are paying EAs ― 32 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[1] Every household in those states will receive at least $95 a month less; some households, who under regular SNAP rules receive low benefits because they have somewhat higher, but still modest incomes, will see reductions of $250 a month or more. The average person will receive about $90 a month less in SNAP benefits.” It will be interesting to see how this affects trends with the Village Harvest in the second quarter.