FAQs

Here you will find questions and answers about Open Door Food Pantry.

If you need more help or have other questions, contact us.

General FAQs

Did you change your location?

Yes.  In January 2026 we moved our operations to the rear of the Shenandoah County Community Center at 6044 Main Street in Mount Jackson. Our new location provides you with safer ingress and egress to our food distribution point and provides us with more food storage capacity to allow us to better serve the growing number of clients. Look for the sign on Main Street that tells you where to enter the parking lot on food distribution days.

You can donate through the secure “Donate” button on our home page, or if you prefer, you can send us a check made payable to the Open Door Food Pantry, Inc. to the following address. 

Open Door Food Pantry
PO Box 292
Mount Jackson, VA 22842

You can find us at our physical location:

6044 Main Street
Mount Jackson, VA 22842

We are open every third Thursday of the month from 12 pm until 6 pm.

Yes, you will need to register before we are able to distribute food to you to make sure you qualify for assistance.

If you have registered at any Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (BRAFB), you do not need to fill out a form. We will just ask for your name and how many adults and children are in your family to confirm you in our system.

You can view the available food bank locations on the BRAFB website to see if you have registered at one of them previously.

 You can find the form in English and Spanish then download it, print it and fill it in. You can bring it with you on distribution day. We will also have forms available on site.

There will be changes coming to SNAP benefits in October, 2026. You can visit the official SNAP website to review what those changes will be. Most importantly, you will need to be sure the government has your current mailing address and validate the number of residents in your household.

All donations go to directly support the food distribution operations of the Pantry; all labor is provided by volunteers and there are no employees or compensated officers of the organization.

Shelf stable food donations, such as canned goods and boxes of cereal and pasta, are always welcome.  Foods that require refrigeration or are frozen are purchased in bulk and planned carefully to best manage our freezer and refrigerator capacity. Because we are generally able to obtain discounts on our food purchases of 20%-25%, many donors prefer to make monetary donations to maximize the impact of their donation.  You can donate to our cause here!

Donations of canned goods and other shelf stable foods can be left in our food donation box at the rear of the Shenandoah County Community Center.  If you or your organization has a larger donation, you can contact us by sending us a message using the “Contact” tab on the home page.

We accept fresh eggs on all days. Food, including eggs, are often placed in the donation box in front of our storage building behind the Community Center (just below our sign). The bin is emptied daily. In addition, we prepare for distribution on the third Thursday of every month on the day before (Wednesday), and receive food deliveries from the Food Bank, Food Lion and Wholesome Foods. Some donors choose to deliver food that Wednesday as there are volunteers on site from 8 AM to noon.

Although some of our food is donated, we must buy much of the food that we distribute, and these food purchases are the most significant expenses we incur. We also need financial support to pay for the cost of the supplies we need, and for other operating costs, particularly rent, utilities, and insurance. Donations also help us maintain our critical equipment such as refrigerators and freezers. All of our operations are supported by uncompensated volunteers.

No, you are not required to contribute to Zeffy’s optional “tip” when you donate to the Open Door Food Pantry.

You can choose the drop down arrow next to their recommended amount and then click/tap on ‘Other’. Then enter 0.

Whether or not you are eligible to receive TEFAP foods to take home depends on your household income level and the size of your household.  As required by Federal regulations, the State of Virginia establishes uniform statewide criteria for determining eligibility to receive USDA foods. The eligibility criteria include maximum income-based standards at or between 185 percent to 300 percent of the U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines published annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You will never be denied food because of your race, color, national origin, sex, religion, or a disability. You can read the USDA non-discrimination statement here.

If you believe you may qualify for assistance under TEFAP, visit us at our facility in Mount Jackson on a day of food distribution to register. You can also obtain more information from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank at brafb.org.

Forms and posters are available in multiple languages. If you are concerned with communication, feel free to bring an English speaking friend to your first pantry visit, if possible. Please contact the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank at 540-248-3663 if you are concerned we may not be able to meet your language needs.

We allow authorized representatives to pick up food for other people. This means a family member or friend can pick up food for you and/or your family. However, you must visit us in-person at the pantry to provide information about your authorized representative.  Once this information is provided to us in-person, you do not need to visit us again to receive food.

Yes! We would greatly appreciate your Qualified Charitable Donation (QCD) to our organization.

Owners of Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) can transfer up to $108,000 in Qualified Charitable Contributions (QCDs) to charities tax-free each year. QCDs count toward RMDs. QCDs are not taxable income for the IRA owner.

Steps to take: 

  • Contact your financial advisor to inquire about your eligible funds.
  • Select registered charities.
  • Provide addresses and tax identification numbers to your financial advisor.  You can ask to send the QCDs checks directly to the charities, or you can have them sent to you for transmittal. You can use QCDs to give to any registered charity.
  • Please Contact Us if you need our Tax ID for this purpose.

NONE OF THE FOREGOING MESSAGE IS TAX ADVICE; CONSULT YOUR TAX ADVISOR AND/OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR TAX/INVESTMENT ADVICE.

Community support and encouragement have been essential and Open Door Food Pantry says THANK YOU to our partners: Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Food Lion, Community Resources for Education and Wellness (CREW), Town of Mt. Jackson, Triplett Tech, Twin Trees, Wholesome Foods.