By Anna Hargrave, Executive Director for Montgomery County
Can you picture yourself waiting in the cold for hours to get enough food for your family? Or taking multiple buses only to discover the food distribution event ran out long before you arrived? Worse, can you imagine being sick with COVID-19 but realizing that you must go to the food bank because otherwise your kids will go hungry?
This is the reality facing thousands of our neighbors. But, with a small twist of fate, it could be any of us.
As our community’s need for food skyrocketed last spring, our Montgomery County leaders, community stakeholders, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation teamed up to create Food for Montgomery. This remarkable public-private partnership is marshalling the resources of county government, the knowledge and connections of food providers, the organizing power of our Montgomery County Food Council, and the donations of individuals, businesses, and foundations to prevent thousands of children, adults, and seniors from going to bed hungry.
Check out the video below to hear directly from leaders behind the Food for Montgomery initiative.
Thanks to the hundreds of people and businesses who gave early to Food for Montgomery, our partners have quickly scaled innovative solutions to address the staggering increase in food insecurity affecting 1 in 10 of our neighbors.
Here are a few inspiring examples.
Between March and November 2020, Manna Food Center provided more than 112,050 packages of food to people throughout Montgomery County, responding to a 64% increase in need, compared to the same period in 2019.
The Manna Food Center, Capital Area Food Bank, local wholesalers, other nonprofit and faith-based distribution partners, and the County are working together to coordinate bulk purchases, maximizing every dollar devoted to addressing the urgent need.
Many organizations simply did not have the capacity to distribute more food. Thanks to grants from Food for Montgomery, our partners were able to buy or lease trucks, cold storage, technology, and other key resources which helped them increase the quantity and quality of food distributed.
Last April, Kingdom Fellowship AME Church hosted its first family food distribution, which helped 300 families. With support from Food for Montgomery, they are now leading the East County Consolidation Hub which brings together several organizations and county agencies to serve more than 1,000 families each week.
In the spring, restaurants were at risk of closing while local farmers were concerned their food would end up in the trash. Thanks to creative collaborations, their fresh local produce and prepared meals have been able to support people in need, particularly seniors and COVID-positive households that need to remain in quarantine.
While we are proud of what this incredible partnership has accomplished, we know there is still much work to be done. Feeding America estimates that the number of people facing food insecurity could grow to 120,000-140,000 by the end of 2021.
As Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando said:
“This is an all-in effort to build a stronger, resilient system and support Montgomery County. We want to take care of each other, and it starts with ensuring that everyone has food.”
If you share our concern, join us.
Give. Make a gift to Food for Montgomery today! The strength of this partnership will maximize your impact by helping thousands of people across our community.
Learn More. You would be amazed by the creative problem-solving and tireless dedication of the partners behind this effort. Contact us to sign up for opportunities to hear directly from the leaders on the ground and see their work in action.
Get Involved. Many people still don’t realize how many of our neighbors are struggling to put food on the table. If you want to be part of the solution, sign up to help educate others and inspire them to become part of the solution.