Goochland food drive collects more than 12,000 pounds for pantry
Residents donated more than 12,000 pounds in one day, giving Goochland Cares an early boost toward its 40,000-pound summer stocking goal.
More than 12,000 pounds of food reached Goochland Cares through the annual Community Food Drive Drop-Off Day, a haul that delivered about 30% of the nonprofit’s 40,000-pound goal and gave the pantry an early lift before summer demand outpaces donations.
The collection took place Saturday, May 2, at Food Lion stores in Goochland and Manakin-Sabot. Goochland Cares said neighborhood captains gathered donations from April through May ahead of the drop-off day, a format designed to make it easy for residents to help without making a separate trip to the pantry on River Road West.
The numbers show how large the need has become. Goochland Cares’ Food Pantry was serving 365-plus families each week and had provided more than 740,000 meals in 2025. The nonprofit says the annual food drive is meant to help stock shelves over the summer, when donations are lightest but the demand for food assistance does not ease.
That gap matters in a county where grocery bills and other household costs continue to strain budgets. A single day’s drive cannot carry the pantry through the season, but 12,000 pounds of food adds immediate inventory for a safety net that already serves hundreds of households every week. The spring campaign still has room to grow toward its May 31 target, and Goochland Cares had set a 2026 goal of 40,000 pounds by then.
The pantry itself operates from 2999 River Road West in Goochland and allows clients to shop in person. Curbside pickup is also available, with food pickups offered once a week. GoochlandCares says its mission is to provide basic human services and health care to Goochland neighbors in need, and the nonprofit says it has bought the property next door to its current building as it grows. For a pantry already moving tens of thousands of meals, the May 2 food drive was more than a collection event; it was a timely replenishment of one of Goochland County’s most essential support systems.
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