A Halloween-themed fundraiser is returning to the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk on October 31 at 6:30 p.m., with organizers hoping to build on an inaugural event that raised more than $50,000 last year. The second annual “Creepy for a Cause” gala is being put on by the Morring Community Foundation, which is aiming once again to bring community leaders, business leaders and residents together around a single cause: fighting food insecurity across Hampton Roads.
The foundation held its first Creepy for a Cause gala in 2025, and according to WAVY.com, that debut event pulled in more than $50,000 for the cause. All proceeds from this year's gala will again benefit the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, with WAVY TV 10 serving as a media sponsor for the event. The gathering is designed to be more than a party with a theme — it's pitched as a direct line between Hampton Roads donors and neighbors who are going hungry.
Charlene A. Morring, president of the Morring Community Foundation, said the event shows what collective action can accomplish. According to the station's report, Morring said the gala demonstrates how community participation can help neighbors in need, adding that food insecurity affects all of Hampton Roads and that community collaboration can make a lasting difference.
Where the Money Actually Goes
Per the Morring Community Foundation, every ticket, donation and costume at the gala helps the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. For its inaugural 2025 fundraiser, the foundation said funds raised would expand programs including meal services, mobile food pantries and emergency assistance for families. That's a tall order given the scale of need in the region. The Foodbank's own figures show it serves 11 cities and counties across a 4,745-square-mile territory, with more than 152,720 people in its service area projected to be food insecure — roughly one in eight residents, by the organization's count.
Those numbers track with a broader study that has been circulating through the region this fall. A 2026 University of Chicago survey commissioned by the Federation of Virginia Food Banks found that 43% of households in Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore are food insecure, as reported by WMRA. The same survey found the rate climbs even higher on the Virginia Peninsula, where 50% of households reported food insecurity — the second-highest rate anywhere in the state.
A Statewide Crunch Behind the Local Numbers
The Foodbank told WMRA that its distribution lines are now 30% to 40% longer than they've ever been, a strain compounded by the roughly 120,000 Virginians who lost SNAP benefits over the past year, according to the same report. A food distribution event in Norfolk last October had to close its gates just one hour in because of overwhelming demand, WMRA noted.
Statewide figures echo the regional trend. The 2026 Virginia Hunger Study, based on interviews with more than 5,600 Virginians, found that 42% of residents statewide are experiencing food insecurity, according to the Federation of Virginia Food Banks. Rates vary widely by region, from 32% in Northern Virginia to 55% in Southwest Virginia, and the study found 77% of food-insecure adults say it's somewhat or very difficult to access healthy food, while only 27% of food-insecure households are enrolled in SNAP.
A Network Straining to Keep Pace
WTKR reported that the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore distributed a record 26.6 million pounds of food during its most recent fiscal year. Since 1981, the Foodbank says it has provided more than 420 million meals to people in need across the region.
For the Morring Community Foundation, the hope is that a single Halloween night at one of Norfolk's cultural landmarks can add a meaningful sum to that long-running effort. Whether this year's gala matches or exceeds last year's $50,000 haul remains to be seen, but organizers are counting on costumes, community and the Chrysler Museum's doors to draw out Hampton Roads residents willing to give.
