ROANOKE, Va. – They don’t do it for the spotlight, but the impact they make is undeniable. This National Volunteer Month, Feeding Southwest Virginia recognizes the everyday heroes who keep the organization running. Inside the warehouse, the sound of sorting, stacking, and sealing boxes serves as the soundtrack of service.
Right in the middle of it, you’ll often find Sally Roller, who has been volunteering at Feeding Southwest Virginia for 17 years.
“I see the good they do. There’s a lot of food that you’ll see, and they just need bodies to process it, and I’m happy to be one of those bodies and make sure my neighbors have food,” Roller said.
For Roller, volunteering is more than just showing up each week. It’s something she wanted her children to witness as they grew up, so they would understand the value of giving back.
“Feeding Southwest taught my children something I could never teach—that our neighbors are hungry, and I am indebted to that because my children are now 22 and 25 and still this is a big part of their life. It’s very touching for me, and I feel like I owe it here, so I come once a week,” she added.
Feeding Southwest Virginia officials say their entire operation relies on volunteers, about 3,000 each year.
“And without all the volunteers we have, we absolutely couldn’t do the work. Our agencies rely on them; we rely on volunteers to really have the food ready and do the heavy lifting that we do in this warehouse every day to feed our neighbors,” said David Dantzler, director of corporate relations at Feeding Southwest Virginia.
The volunteers help sort, clean, and organize food to distribute across 26 counties and nine cities.
“The last data we received was that one in seven of our neighbors are food insecure, and one in five children are food insecure, and it actually goes up in the larger cities,” Dantzler noted.
Roller may not see every family she’s helping, but she knows each hour makes an impact.
“It’s instant. The minute I get here, I know I’m gonna get food. I’m gonna process that food in those three hours, and that’s gonna be on someone’s plate in two days. You don’t get that any other way,” she said.
Feeding Southwest Virginia continues to thrive thanks to the dedication of its volunteers, who embody the spirit of giving back to the community.
Want to volunteer? You can learn more about what you can do to take action here.