New Shared Cold-Storage Facility Opens in East County to Combat Food Waste and Expand Hunger Relief
On Friday, December 5, Montgomery County celebrated a significant achievement in the fight against food insecurity with the ribbon-cutting of the East County Cold Storage facility in Silver Spring. The event brought together more than 40 attendees, including individual and corporate donors, nonprofit leaders, heads of key government departments, and elected officials: County Executive Marc Elrich, Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez, Councilmember Will Jawando, Councilmember Kristin Mink, Councilmember Kate Stewart, and State Delegate Lorig Charkoudian.
A Cross-Sector Solution to a Pressing Challenge
Spearheaded by Kingdom Global Community Development Corporation and Rainbow CDC, this new facility addresses a longstanding challenge for food access providers: insufficient refrigeration and freezer space. By creating shared storage capacity, the resource will help partners reduce food waste, store more nutritious perishable items, and respond more effectively to community needs.
Rev. Kendra Smith of Kingdom Global Community Development Corporation and Patricia Drumming of Rainbow CDC speak to community members about the impact of the East County Cold Storage Facility.
“Our challenge hasn't been sourcing food. Our challenge has been storing it,” said Rev. Kendra Smith of Kingdom Global Community Development Corporation. “This shared facility means we can rescue more food that would otherwise go to waste and get it to families who need it.”
This critical infrastructure investment was made possible by the ingenuity of these local nonprofits combined with collaborative partnerships with local government leaders, plus seed funding from the Food for Montgomery Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation. A public-private partnership created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Food for Montgomery made over $2.6 million in grants for emergency food distributions, equipment purchases, and infrastructure investments to create a more equitable and resilient food security system, such as this new cold-storage resource.
“This is about more than refrigerators and freezers,” said Pat Drumming of Rainbow CDC. “It's about maximizing every donation, every partnership, and every opportunity to serve our neighbors with dignity.”
Council President Fani-Gonzalez joined by County Executive and Councilmembers Jawando, Mink, and Stewart in presenting a citation to the Kingdom Global and Rainbow CDC.
The impact of the shared cold storage unit will allow for over 100,000 pounds of food saved and stored, representing 120,000 meals provided annually and increasing the number of households receiving fresh food donations by 2,000 households annually.
“This facility represents what's possible when our community comes together to solve problems," said Tonia Wellons, President & CEO of the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “This facility exists today because of thousands of people who refused to allow their neighbors to go hungry, and because of the dedicated nonprofit partners who had the vision to turn that generosity into lasting change. We're not just addressing hunger today—we're building infrastructure that will strengthen our food system for years to come.”
Elizabeth Teuwen (left) and Allison Schnitzer (right), Co-Executive Directors of the Montgomery County Food Council, join with Montgomery County Advisory Board Members (left to right): Uma Ahluwalia, Joan Schaffer, and Catherine Leggett.
Addressing Critical Community Needs
Food insecurity in Montgomery County surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. While emergency relief helped stabilize the immediate crisis, many families continue to struggle. Today, between disruptions to SNAP benefits, changes in federal policies, and the contraction of the federal workforce, there are thousands more people who are having to make difficult choices about whether to pay rent, buy medicine, or put food on the table.
Following the official ribbon-cutting and remarks from elected officials, donors got to talk with the Kingdom and Rainbow leaders in addition to Heather Bruskin, Director of the Office of Food Systems Resiliency, Craig Rice, CEO of the Manna Food Center, and Allison Schnitzer and Elizabeth Teuwen, Co-Executive Directors of the Montgomery County Food Council.
Key takeaways included:
Empower partners with flexible resources. In addition to donations of food, our partners also need flexible financial contributions to support the staffing and infrastructure necessary to maximize their efforts, efficiently getting nourishing food to those who need it.
Advocacy for systemic solutions. There are over 300,000 people living below the self-sufficiency wage in Montgomery County—unable to meet all their basic needs even while working. Supporting policies that strengthen nutrition assistance programs and expand economic opportunity is critical to building long-term food security for everyone.
Get the word out! People who used to donate to nonprofits are now coming for help, and the need is expected to grow. We need to spread the word so those with the resources to help join our efforts to build a resilient, sustainable food system that serves all of us.
Click here to see more photos from the Cold Storage Ribbon Cutting Event!
For more information about food security initiatives in Montgomery County or to learn how you can support this work, contact Anna Hargrave at The Community Foundation at [email protected].