Virginia

Nonprofit serves thousands as food insecurity grows in Northern Virginia

Published

5 months ago

on

December 25, 2025

By

Press Room

Nonprofit serves thousands as food insecurity grows in Northern Virginia

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (7News) — For the past couple of years, Christina Engle has been volunteering from a unique space at Dulles Town Center. But there’s nothing for sale at this storefront, free food prepared alongside a healthy serving of emotional support.

“We always have fresh produce,” said Engle.

Entrepreneur Nupur Panjabi founded Anna Sudha Community Kitchens to address a pressing need: many people suffering in a country teeming with excess.

“Anna means food, and Sudha means nectar of love. Our mission is to spread love through food. This is my way of just trying to make a difference,” said Panjabi.

This community kitchen has been around for only a few years, but due to demand, it produces and delivers an average of 6,500 meals a month from a 2,000-square-foot space in the Dulles Town Center.

Panjabi said her business model works because of a surrounding community willing to donate not only money but also time. Almost everyone associated with this non-profit is a volunteer, like Christina Engle.

“I was homeless for about a year and a half, me and my family,” added Engle.

For Engle, a life of struggle inspired her to be here for others.

Engle said, “A lot of people don’t have relatives or anything like that for the holidays, so when they come in, we make them feel special, and loved, and wanted.”

The need, according to Panjabi, has actually deepened due to recent economic challenges in the region.

“They’re making barely enough money to pay their rent and keep their cars. They don’t have money to buy food, so that’s where we come in,” said Panjabi.

For Panjabi, food is merely an ingredient in a much larger narrative: caring for those who don’t have much in a unique space defined by love.

“It’s very natural for a human being to be judgmental and to get rid of those judgments, that is the journey,” concluded Panjabi.

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Virginia

Virginia Supreme Court voids voter-approved redistricting referendum

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Press Room

Virginia Supreme Court voids voter-approved redistricting referendum

On May 8, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the General Assembly violated the state constitution when it tried to redraw congressional districts, nullifying the results of the April election in which Virginians narrowly approved redistricting.

Electoral maps are usually redrawn once every 10 years, but multiple states began redrawing them early after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to redraw district lines to ensure more favorable results for the party in the November 2026 elections.

This started a nationwide political battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas was the first of several states to redraw districts favoring Republicans, and Virginia Democrats had proposed a constitutional amendment to allow redistricting in order to favor Democrats.

As of May 8, Republicans had initiated redistricting efforts in eight states; Democrats had led redistricting efforts in three states, including Virginia, the Washington Post reported.

In April, Virginia voters supported the redistricting amendment with 51.7% voting for it out of more than 3 million ballots cast. It could have given Democrats up to four extra seats in the U.S. House, according to the Washington Post (subscription required).

But the Virginia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, found that there were procedural errors in how the Democratic legislature handled the process, nullifying the election results.

The Virginia Constitution says that proposed constitutional amendments must pass in the General Assembly twice before the public can vote on them: once before an election of the House of Delegates, and again after an election. According to the Virginia Supreme Court majority opinion written by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, early voting for the general election had already been open for six weeks when the General Assembly cast its first vote on the amendment in October 2025, with more than 1.3 million voters having already cast their ballots.

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court majority opinion stated.

The court’s ruling means the state reverts to the old district maps adopted in 2021. Based on those maps, Virginia voters elected six Democrats and five Republicans to the U.S. House.

Following the court’s ruling, some Virginia Democrats who planned to run for the U.S. House told the New York Times that they have to abandon their campaigns, while others, such as Tom Perriello who is running for the 5th District, face much more difficult campaigns.

Virginia Democrats on Friday asked the court to pause the nullification of the referendum results while they prepare their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to VPM.

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