Food Pantry holding fundraising dinner against backdrop of long-planned relocation

Groundbreaking for Rush River Commons, the Pantry’s future home, has been delayed

The Rappahannock Food Pantry on Saturday has planned a proper in-person return of its annual bene t dinner to help raise funds for one of the county’s most valued nonpro t organizations that provides food to those in need.

The philanthropic event, which has drawn fervent interest with tickets selling out weeks in advance, is also likely to mark the nal year the pantry will be located in Sperryville as organizers have planned a move to the Town of Washington’s soon-to-be-developed Rush River Commons to become the building’s anchor.

To commemorate the pantry’s future at its upcoming location, pantry Manager Mimi Forbes named Rush River Commons spokesperson and chair of the Warrenton-based philanthropic PATH Foundation Betsy Dietel and her husband, local cattle farmer Mike Sands, to be the event’s honorary chairs.

“I wanted to honor her because I know she’s been so instrumental in working on this thing,” Forbes said of Dietel's role in helping to bring the food pantry into Rush River Commons’s rst phase, which was approved by Washington Town Council in 2021.

Sands also has a history of helping the pantry procure meat, according to pantry President Noel Lang.

“We’re delighted to be supporting the e ort in any way we can,” Dietel said. “They’ve had record turnout of attendance for this, which I think speaks volumes about both the importance of the food pantry in this community, but also the need for people to really come together and see each other in person. I think it’s going to be a great event.” (After being canceled amid the pandemic in 2020, last year’s bene t dinner was held as a drive-thru where donors donned ne garb, had their photo taken, then drove o with meals in hand.)

Food pantry organizers have long desired to relocate the brick and mortar operation, which currently sits in Sperryville along U.S. Route 211 toward Shenandoah National Park, to Washington to be more centrally located and a ord them more space. “People coming from Amissville and Chester Gap — it’s kind of a long haul to come all the way down to the other side of Sperryville,” Pantry Treasurer Pete Stenner said of their current location.

They leased the Sperryville building with the intent of moving back to Washington in the future, Stenner said. A few years ago, the pantry almost purchased a plot of land near Washington behind the Atlantic Union Bank, but it became too cost prohibitive to develop on, according to Lang.

So when Chuck Akre, owner of the land Rush River Commons’ rst phase is slated to be developed on, caught wind of the predicament, he o ered for the pantry to become a centerpiece of the planned building. “I think he felt like he was helping provide them with an alternative,” Dietel said. “And they decided it made sense to do it.”

Construction of Rush River Commons’ rst phase, which is planned to also include 18 housing units (some deemed a ordable) and a cafe, was originally slated to begin in early 2022 but was delayed. Dietel said complications in the construction industry have hampered the project’s ability to get o the ground.

In an interview, Akre said that his team is hoping to break ground on phase one as soon as early June as they await nal permitting from the town. “That’s a great honor for them,” Akre said of the Dietels being chosen as honorary guests at the food pantry’s dinner. “I was not aware of that, but I think it’s terri c.”

The pantry’s lease in Sperryville ends in August, but their landlord appears willing to allow them to rent month-to-month until they’re able to move into Rush River Commons, which organizers hope will be sometime within the next year.

Also in play in the lead-up to construction of the rst phase is Akre’s e orts to adjust the town’s boundary so his property, which currently straddles the line between Washington and the county, can be brought entirely under the town’s jurisdiction to accommodate a proposed expansion of the development.

That second phase is planned to include community, arts and o ce space.

Originally, Akre was aiming to construct phase one and two simultaneously to gain economy of scale, but it appears they may no longer be able to achieve that with town and county o - cials still ironing out details of a potential boundary change agreement. “In the best of all worlds, we’d love to do the whole project as one,” Dietel said.