Germantown Rocks

A crisis often brings out the best in people, and there are a LOT of good people in Germantown.

Many new volunteers appeared in the last couple months. In March, after Stay at Home was issued, it took 25-30 people A WEEK to purchase enough perishable and nonperishable food to cover the 60-90 deliveries going out. Miraculously, the good people of Germantown showed up in droves, bringing in a few dozen eggs here, a couple half-gallons of milk there, a case of green beans... One woman brought not one but TWO spray bottle of Clorox cleaner! Wow. Special thanks to Norm Gordon and his intrepid team of pick-up volunteers! Having doorstep pickup makes it easier for people to donate.

In the last month, we've formed relationships with Saval Foods, the Latino Health Initiative, the Upcounty Hub at BlackRock; we're working on Stanley Foods and Frederick Produce. Our neighbors' generous contributions have enabled us to buy the milk, eggs, bread and meat that we need, even if it sometimes takes multiple trips to different stores to get them. We've experimented with distributing fresh produce, too. In the past, our volume was too low to make buying vegetables in bulk work, but it's working now.

Planning ahead for an expected increase in demand, we are developing a variety of pickup sites in Germantown, so people can pick up food if they have a car. Our decades of experience with the Holiday Giving Project really helps with food distribution, too! We've researched texting programs to confirm pickup times and created online referral forms for caseworkers to do bulk referrals. Even as businesses slowly reopen, there will be many unemployed people and people who must continue to self-quarantine; extra support will be needed and we are pleased we can help. We are ready!

We are so thankful to Maryland and Montgomery County for providing many supports, including maxing out SNAP dollars, providing pickup meals from MCPS resources (six sites in Germantown), Manna Foods for sponsoring a variety of food dropoffs, and Women Who Care Ministries for their weekend backpacks of food. We are fortunate to live in a county where so many resources are available! Still, some people need extra help, can't make it to pickups, don't have children in school, need to quarantine themselves - we are always here for them.

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What we need now:

Canned soup, fruit & veggies

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Interesting stats:

A lot of our "usual" callers now have sufficient support through MCPS, etc. etc. and are rarely calling Germantown HELP. About 70% of our callers in the last month have been new (never called Germantown HELP before); our new callers have been about 60% Hispanic and 10% African. Of our new callers, about a quarter were initially referred by caseworkers, congregations, or MC311; the rest learned about us from friends and family.

Of all the nonperishable food we've distributed since mid-March, the only items we've purchased are 84 jars of peanut butter. Everything else was donated! THANK YOU.

We spend an average of $110 a day buying milk, eggs, bread and meat. We have added potatoes, onions,  relatively sturdy veggies and fruit, but so far these have been donated so we can give the perishables a try. Healthy food will keep our community strong.

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Links to share:

Senior Planet Montgomery County helps seniors learn new skills, save money, get in shape, and make new friends. Their courses, programs, and activities are changing the lives of older adults far beyond technology. Resources and training videos, including how to use Instacart, etc.

Identity is now accepting Montgomery County community member virtual walk-ins in Spanish for help with Rental assistance; Food assistance; Assistance applying for Utility Programs; Unemployment application assistance; Mental health; Medical assistance; 2020 Census Completion; and Assistance Filling Out Standby Guardianship Applications. 

Food assistance in Montgomery County, including help for people in many languages.

Montgomery County Public Schools food pickup sites.

OH MY GOODNESS.

Requests are starting to rise. Coronavirus concerns are driving people to stockpile food. As a result, we are unable to bulk order nonperishable food, and there is precious little perishable food around, too.

We REALLY appreciate individuals going out to buy what they can and dropping it off. Every bit helps.

Eventually, people will run out of room to stockpile canned goods and the inventory will return to normal. In the meantime, stay safe and wash your hands!

Hi Neighbors!

There's a lot of stuff happening at Germantown HELP right now... We're excited to have a bunch of new board members and volunteers with great ideas to improve our services and funding. We're also planning to gather together area congregations to get their ideas and needs, too! If you want to join us, you are welcome.

We'll be at the Potomac Valley Assembly of God tomorrow, April 13th, from 12-4:00 for their Easter community event, stop on by to say hello!