In recent weeks, Nourishing Bethesda (NB)—which St. John’s Norwood founded as a ministry in 2020 with the support of compassionate community partners, and still generously supports as a 501(c)(3) today—has stepped up with energy and compassion to meet the needs of our community in the face of significant new challenges. The government shutdown, unexpected delays in payments and drastic reductions in SNAP (food stamp) benefits, and higher costs for food and healthcare have hit our most vulnerable neighbors hard. Need has exploded, and NB is now serving roughly 2,300 individuals—including about 1,000 children and 400 seniors—each month. For Thanksgiving, NB offered a full holiday dinner to over 900 families. We thank all the amazing St. John’s volunteers and donors who make this great work of love and hope possible!
Founding Executive Director and St. John’s parishioner John Ross offers this update:
The government shutdown brought more than 200 new families to us in just a few weeks. It hit us hard with long lines and even longer faces. It hasn't ended as the government reopens: SNAP delays, uncertainty around healthcare and Medicaid, plus stubbornly high food and living costs, continue to torment our most vulnerable members of our community.
We're breaking new records every week, now serving over 900 households every week.
In the wake of the shut down we continued our important tradition of providing the making of a grand family Thanksgiving dinner, complete with Turkey or chicken, veggies, rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, coffee, and a pie.
“It’s such a relief that I can pull off Thanksgiving,” said one of our recipients. Over the course of the two weeks in which we handed out the dinner packages, I saw tears and huge smiles. And hugs. So many hugs between recipients and volunteers.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen came by to hand out Thanksgiving packages. He couldn't stop smiling, too. "You all are doing such important work," he said.
It's not just calories and nutritious food that we give out. We give out love and most importantly, hope. Nourishing Bethesda demonstrates that every person is valued--and that the community has their back.
If you would like to volunteer at or donate to Nourishing Bethesda, visit nourishingbethesda.org to sign up!