During the month of April, members of the Junior League of Northern Virginia Winter New Member class, as part of their class project, will be collecting food to benefit United Community Ministries. Dates and locations for the food drive include:

• Saturday, April 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Giant in Falls Church (1230 West Broad Street, Falls Church, VA 22046)
• Sunday, April 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Giant in Arlington (621 East Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22202)
• Sunday, April 10 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Giant in Ashburn (44410 Ashburn Village Road, Ashburn, VA 20147)

In addition, through April 24, food donations can be dropped off at collection boxes at Keller Williams Realty (1701 Duke Street, Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22324) and Core Wellness (2212 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA).

The JLNV’s community initiatives are focused on increasing the number of elementary age children in low-income communities who are empowered to make healthy eating and active living a priority. We do this by introducing children and their parents to where food comes from and to basic concepts of nutrition and healthy eating, and by supporting access to healthy food options and physical activity opportunities.

Donations collected as part of the food drive will benefit United Community Ministries’ Food Pantry, which provides supplemental groceries to an average of 80-100 families each weekday. They appreciate donations of heart-healthy food items such as low sodium canned goods, whole grain pasta and low-sugar cereals.