Correction (Sept. 14, 9:50 a.m.): An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect name for FACETS' Hot Meals Food Distributions program. The story has been updated with the correct name.

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Twice a month, volunteers with the Hot Meals Food Distributionsprogram gather at Fairfax Presbyterian Church to cook hot meals for the homeless men and woman and food insecure residents of the City of Fairfax.

"We cook a beef, lentil and vegetable stew two times a month," said Diana Carlson, who coordinates the effort at the church. "Our meal also includes bread, fruit leather, a fig bar, chocolate and a bottle of water."

The volunteers begin preparing the lentils, ground beef, onions and vegetables for the stew around 2:30 p.m., in the kitchen of the church's Fellowship Hall. While the stew is cooking, others pack up the non-perishable food for that night's delivery.

Around 5 p.m., a team from from the Salvation Army comes to portion out the stew, so that it can be distributed at three locations across the city.

Fairfax Presbyterian and the Salvation Army are just two of the 40 faith-based volunteer groups that support FACETS' hot meal program.

"It's purely whoever walks up and asks for a meal gets meal," Carlson said. "They may ask, 'I have a wife and three kids at home. Can I have five meals?' We give them five meals. The demand varies."

Normally, volunteers with the Hot Meals Food Distributions would prepare about 100 meals for their guests each night. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed and many people were out of work, the volunteers were preparing as many as 250 meals a night.

"The beginning this year, it had gone down to about 120, but it's spiking up again," Carlton said, during one of their meal preparations in August. "It's about 150 the last couple of times. We try and stay ahead of the curve, so that we make sure that we have enough meals for for everybody that comes."

Feeding the city's food insecure is just part of Fairfax Presbyterian's mission, Pastor Henry Brinton

"Our church has been located here in Fairfax for over 60 years and the congregation has always been very focused on meeting the needs of the community, whatever they are," he said. "This program is designed to help those in our neighborhood who are food insecure, who need help with hot meals and nutritious bag lunches in order to get through the day."

The hot meals program aligns with the church's ongoing concern for the area's homeless population, including its participation in Fairfax County's hypothermia prevention program.

For one week every year, up to 70 homeless individuals camp out in sleeping bags in the church's social hall, with volunteers serving meals out of its kitchen.

"We don't see that our ministry is designed only to serve our church members but to serve people around us," Brinton said. "We try to make sure that we use our kitchen and our entire facility in that way."

Fairfax Presbyterian is also doing its part to increase the availability of affordable housing in the city. The church has made available 2 acres of its property off of Main Street for the construction of 10 townhomes for low to moderate income households. The plan is currently making its way through the city approval process.

"The lack of affordable housing in our area is one of the biggest drivers of need in our community," Brinton said. "People have to pay so much for housing that it leaves far less money available for food, for medications, for clothing, for the various necessities that children need."

The church's partners in the project include Habitat for Humanity, which will do the construction; HomeStretch, which helps families move from homelessness to sustainable housing; and HomeAid, a contractor's nonprofit organization where builders donate supplies and skilled labor to help construct affordable housing.

"By increasing the stock of affordable housing, we're not just putting roofs over people's heads, we are easing their burden and a lot of other ways, freeing up more of their income for food and clothing and other necessities," Brinton said. "It's a real strategic intervention in people's lives."

It was around 6 p.m. when the white Salvation Army van pulled into a large parking lot in the city for its first stop of the night. Once the back gate opened, volunteers began handing out cardboard containers filled with stew and plastic utensils.

Of the eight people who had been standing around waiting for the van to arrive, several walked off after grabbing their food. But others chatted with the volunteers or grabbed some toiletries from the plastic bins sitting on the blacktop next to the van.

A man drove up in his car and asked if he could get several meals for his family. A volunteer handed him four containers through the driver's side window.

In 1988, FACETS founder Linda Wimpy started out by providing hot meals to people in need.

"She was on our way home from church. She saw a family that struggling. She talked some of her church friends into helping prepare a meal and they started doing that three times a week here in Fairfax City and it's growing, " said Susanne Hough, the nonprofit's volunteer manger.

FACETS relies on its 40 faith partners and their volunteers to ensure that hot meals are delivered 365 days a year to the city's homeless and food insecure. The nonprofit also manages the county's hypothermia program and a permanent supportive housing team from FACETS goes out to the tent cities and works with volunteers the Lamb Center, which is the city's homeless day shelter.

On the prevention side, FACETS works with the community to help build a safety net so that people don't end up needing its services.

In August, FACETS had just completed its back-to-school drive and will be starting its Thanksgiving and Christmas drives in the next few months.

As the volunteer coordinator, Hough said there were a number of ways for people to get involved with helping the community.

"For me, it's important that somebody do something that they're passionate about and that the organization needs, and I can guarantee there's a role out there for everybody," Hough said.

More information on FACETS' programs and volunteer are available online.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness of hunger in our local communities, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that 1 in 8 people face hunger. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

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