Frederick Neve had come from England to jointly serve Emmanuel and St. Paul’s as their rector in 1888. Within a few years he began visiting people in need who were living isolated lives in the rural areas of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Ragged Mountains. He established small mission churches to provide not only religious havens, but social and educational services as well. Holy Cross Church near Batesville was one of these mission churches that was established in 1900 and consecrated in 1902. Outreach to neighbors in need became a trademark for Neve earning him the distinction within the Diocese of Virginia as the Archdeacon of the Blue Ridge.
In 1909 the service name changed yet again to “The Woman’s Auxiliary and Aid Society.” Over the years the women of the parish continued to raise funds to support various state and local charities such as the Charlottesville Children’s Home, the Children’s Home Society of Virginia, and the Home for Homeless Boys to name just a few. Money from the sale of handworks, knitting, crocheting, rummage sales, baked goods, church bazaars, and other holiday celebrations helped to fund various outreach and church projects over the years. |
Emmanuel Episcopal Church’s current food distribution program was created in November of 1984 and has gone through several transformations since its founding as a mission outreach program to Greenwood and surrounding areas in Albemarle and Nelson counties. The mission program was established at the suggestion of then rector Howard A. LaRue.
Mr. LaRue was the Greenwood Parish rector from 1969-1995. Greenwood Parish at that time included Holy Cross Church near Batesville and the rector had duties at both churches. Besides Rev. LaRue, the two initial founding leaders of the program were Catherine “Kate” LaRue, the rector’s wife, and Emmanuel Church member Mary Alice Plummer. With Mrs. LaRue as Secretary/Treasurer and Mrs. Plummer as the Food Coordinator and with the support of the Vestry, many other church members rallied immediately to the cause of reaching out to individuals and families in need of food security in the community. Mary Alice Plummer was noted in the 1991 Centennial Edition of the Charlottesville Daily Progress as being a local heroine “who organized and supervised the collection, storage and distribution of enormous quantities of food for poor people.” |
Initially the program was called the Greenwood Parish Bread Fund and food was distributed monthly on the first Saturday of each month from Emmanuel’s parish hall with boxes being delivered to homes of families, shut-ins, and other area churches for distribution. The 1985 records indicate that 76 households were served during the first year. For the first few months the Bread Fund was housed at the Emmanuel Church’s parish hall, but then moved to Holy Cross Church’s parish building, and a bit later to another church building there that had been the home where the mission deaconesses had lived in the early 20th century. The distribution center remained at Holy Cross until 2022 when it moved to its current location adjacent to Emmanuel Church. At times the program has been called the Greenwood Parish Bread Fund, the Emmanuel-Holy Cross Bread Fund, the Emmanuel Bread Fund, and now the Rockfish Gap Food Pantry-A Mission of the Emmanuel Bread Fund.
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When the Bread Fund was initially established it was supported only by gifts of food and monetary donations from the Emmanuel and Holy Cross congregations in addition to all the many volunteer hours of their congregants. Soon after the program was begun food began to be purchased from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank as an Agency Partner and still remains so today. The volunteer coordinator for many years of the pickup and delivery of the Food Bank materials was E. O. Woodson, a long time Emmanuel parishioner.
In the very beginning of the mission other items such as bedding and linens, clothing, fans, firewood, and help with medications were also provided as needed. Delivery of boxes to individual homes was discontinued in 1986 as the distribution center had then moved to Holy Cross Church. Cooperation and input from local housing agencies, the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, Hospice, County Social Services, Head-Start, Meals on Wheels, and other individual churches helped to spread the knowledge about this new ministry of Greenwood Parish. |
Now in the 21st century with the expansion of other food pantry programs in Albemarle and Nelson Counties, a reduction in the number of families being served by the Bread Fund became a concern. With the decrease in numbers combined with the somewhat isolated location of Holy Cross Church on Craigs Store Road, a decision was made to move the Bread Fund distribution center from the Batesville church to Scott House adjacent to Emmanuel on the Rockfish Gap Turnpike. The Scott House is named for Frederic and Elizabeth Scott. Mrs. Scott was one of the initial early Bread Fund organizers/volunteers and a constant supporter of the program until her death in 2019.
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Beyond Distribution Day each month, volunteers help monthly on Restocking Day filling the shelves at 10am on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. Emmanuel parishioners Cindy Kirchner and Nancy Avery have contributed much time and energy for many years both at Holy Cross Church and now at the new Rockfish Gap Food Pantry as the organizing leaders of the current program - Cindy as keeping the recipient files and Nancy as directing the food ordering process. Both are essential to the monthly operation. Under their competent supervision the program has expanded exponentially the number of recipients being served in the broader geographic area of the new pantry at Scott House.
If you or someone you know is in need of food assistance, or if you wish to volunteer in the food pantry, please contact: The Emmanuel Episcopal Church office at 540-456-6334 or info(at)emmanuelgreenwood.org Monetary donations are gratefully accepted and should be made out to Emmanuel Episcopal Church, with designation on the memo line “The Bread Fund” and mailed to the church at P.O. Box 38, Greenwood VA 22943. |
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