Leah L. Jones/The Gazette
Thom Lourim of the Church of the Nazarene stands in the church's food pantry used to serve people in need.
|
Since October, the College Park Church of the Nazarene has been hosting a monthly food distribution for needy families and people who have experienced hard times in the current economic situation.
What began as a few calls from needy families inspired a few members of the College Park Church of the Nazarene to start a small food distribution for 30 families. The program has now grown to become the College Park Food Bank, a full-scale distribution that monthly serves 200-300 people.
"It's a struggle, but we haven't had to turn anyone away yet," said Thom Lourim, coordinator of the College Park Food Bank. "We've been bringing in just enough, but the need is growing."
The food is collected a number of ways. Hollywood Elementary students host food drives, residents and neighbors donate items and the Church of the Nazarene takes monetary donations from its congregation and purchases items from the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., Lourim said.
The food bank also receives gift cards from Giant, Safeway and Shoppers grocery stores and bread from Atlanta Bread, Panera Bread and the Bagel Place of College Park. Starbucks donates coffee for the monthly food distribution day, the third Saturday of each month.
Springhill Lake Elementary School third grade teacher Johanna Long volunteered last month and plans to do so again. Long was introduced to the food bank by her friend whose church, the Maryland Christian Fellowship at the University of Maryland, has also helped with the food bank.
"I was at the church and they were incredibly organized," said Long, a Greenbelt resident. "My job was to sort and add the produce to boxes of non-perishables when the families came in to get the boxes."
Lourim said each family who registers will be given a few weeks worth of groceries.
"We've worked people who have special needs, such as certain allergies, and people who are vegetarians and diabetics," she said.
The food bank has also been working with a student nutritionist from the University of Maryland, College Park who designs recipes and suggests specific healthy foods to order, such as beans, which can last for an extended period of time.
Like any nonprofit organization, the College Park Food Bank depends heavily on volunteers.
"We usually have around 20 volunteers, but last month we only had 10 or 11 because the University of Maryland was closed for spring break and the students make up a large number of our volunteers," Lourim said.
The College Park Church of the Nazarene has separate congregations for people who speak English, Spanish and Swahili, so translators are always available during food distribution. They also offer entertainment for children, such as movies or games, during the distribution process.
"We try to make it as non-threatening and friendly as possible," Lourim said.
In the future, the College Park Food Bank would like to offer health-related services like vision screenings and blood pressure checks and find a way to work with WIC and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.
"We're all ears for ideas because there's just so much need around us," Lourim said.
-College Park Church of the Nazarene
-9704 Rhode Island Avenue
College Park, MD 20740
-301-345-4616
-www.collegeparknaz.com
-www.collegeparkfoodbank.com
-Those who wish to receive food during the distribution are asked to register beforehand by calling 301-908-9682 or visiting www.collegeparkfoodbank.com, so enough food will be available for everyone.
