Gleaning Baptist Church, Harcum, unveiled its new food pantry Friday after being selected for the ninth annual Food Lion Feeds Great Pantry Makeover.

According to Donna Tighe, Director of Development at Virginia Peninsula Foodbank, Food Lion completes these food pantry makeovers to help provide more food assistance in local communities. Gleaning Baptist has received a new sink, new flooring, a new ice machine, carts, shelving, a pallet of food to stock the shelves and 140 $25 Food Lion gift cards.

Food Lion volunteers painted walls, assembled shelves and carts and stocked shelves last week.

“This is a way to improve efficiency to get food out to the community,” said Tighe about the makeover.

Tighe said the need for food pantries has increased locally, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic and now with inflation. Virginia Peninsula Foodbank has witnessed a 28 percent need increase in its nine service areas, which include Gloucester and Mathews.

“More families are reachi...