Nourishing Bethesda Update - St. John's Episcopal Church, Norwood Parish

by John F. Ross, Chair, Men’s Ministry Committee

Owing to increased demand, we have increased our number of family food packages handed out every week from 200 to 250. We’re also packing a few more packages every week, as we we’re routinely getting 270-plus households coming every week. That means that we’re serving about 1,200 people a week, including nearly 500 children.

We have a new logo, chosen by the Nourishing Bethesda leadership group. I think you’ll agree that it looks great!

Smiling volunteers pack bags on a recent Thursday night. Yes, they’re really smiling!

As we’re doing the entire food distribution ourselves, we have new opportunities for volunteering, including Thursday night packing, transportation of food Friday morning, set up at the Rescue Squad, and, of course, the placement of food into vehicles. You can sign up here.

We are also interested in finding leadership roles for those who take particular interest in our food insecurity initiative. Many types of positions are available!

Last Friday, we handed out wreaths with a bag of bows and baubles. Each subsequent Friday for December, we’ll be giving our recipients something special, all courtesy of generous donations by Bethesda organizations. This week we will give out fruit pies. On December 18th, we’ll hand out a full Christmas dinner kit, followed by a gingerbread house kit on Christmas Eve.

Don’t hesitate to contact us at office@stjohnsnorwood.org if you have any questions, want to find a way to volunteer, or donate.

Alex Duncan