A second Volunteer Farm to feed the hungry in Virginia is being established near Woodstock in the northern Shenandoah Valley.

The original Volunteer Farm in Woodstock has used thousands of volunteers in the past five years to raise fresh vegetables for Virginia's poor.

The newest farm will raise cattle to provide meat, said Bob Blair, the founder of the farms. He is also chairman and CEO of the nonprofit World Foundation for Children which oversees the farms.

"It is time to grow," Blair said in a statement. "The need of the hungry people is so great and growing that we must do more to help more people. They need something more than canned goods and paper products." So far this year, the Volunteer Farm has produced 13 tons of vegetables, Blair said.

The second Volunteer farm will be near Zepp Valley, situated on the southern slopes of the Appalachian mountains on the line between Virginia and West Virginia. The meat raised at the farm will be used for the elderly, disabled, poor and children, said Blair. The farm is being managed by Chuck Seal, a longtime resident of Woodstock.

"We have been fortunate to lease the Zepp farm from Patricia and John Hall of Arlington County at $1 per year for 10 years," said Blair. "We will use this 40-acre farm to receive donated livestock, graze them on good grass, and send them after processing to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to help feed about 80,000 per month in 25 counties and nine cities of Virginia."

"At this point we are unable to predict how much meat we will be able to produce at the Zepp Farm, since we are unable to predict how many animals will be donated to the farm," Blair said. "And that leaves us in a quandary, because we are unable to accurately budget our expenses, especially for the cost of processing, with a large steer costing about $400."

Contact Carlos Santos at (434) 295-9542 or csantos@timesdispatch.com.