Brian Lewis/The Gazette
Hannah Cagas, 15, of Howard County and Vanya Nah, 13, of Rockville load boxes filled with food into the back of a car at Greenridge Baptist Church in Clarksburg on Saturday.
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It's a typical holiday scene – volunteers packing food into boxes in a church basement – but most of the recipients of the boxes at Clarksburg's Greenridge Baptist Church on Saturday were driven by charity and practicality rather than outright need.
Recipients paid for the boxes of groceries with some cash and a few hours of volunteer time.
For each box stocked with approximately $45 worth of groceries, the buyers were required to give $19 and a promise to complete two hours of service. There are no income forms to fill out and no proof of service to submit.
"With the cost of everything nowadays, it doesn't make sense not to do what you can," said Donna Derrick of Germantown, who ordered two of the SHARE Food Network boxes as part of the church's newest outreach program.
One box was for her family and the other for a needy family they had "adopted" for the upcoming holidays.
It seems almost too easy, admitted Celene Keating, who helped people sign up for the program. Skepticism was the largest hurdle to overcome, she said, as well as people's concern that they were not "needy enough" to participate.
"Bill Gates could buy it!" said Tiffany Cupps, a packing volunteer.
Keating said the idea is simple enough: Joining with others throughout the metropolitan area, her family of three can receive the cost savings of buying in bulk without having to deal with either club memberships or large amounts of unneeded food.
"I think it will get a boost once it is out in the community and people can see it and it's tangible," Keating said as she sorted through one of the boxes that contained staples such as potatoes, onions and oranges, as well as boxed stuffing, a whole frozen chicken and a sweet potato pie.
SHARE (Self Help and Resource Exchange) DC, which has been in operation for 19 years, distributes groceries through more than 300 partnering organizations in four states. There are more than a dozen sites in Montgomery County where residents can sign up for the monthly delivery. In addition to the basic package, the program is offering special turkey and ham packages in December.
The Rev. Tirzah Turner, outreach pastor at Greenridge, said she heard about the program through contacts at Germantown HELP and liked the concept.
"People are giving back their selves rather than just taking a hand-out," Turner said.
Any kind of service qualifies, she said, such as "a parent who volunteers in the classroom, someone who rakes leaves."
The 50 boxes distributed at the church Saturday afternoon were the first coordinated by the church and were ordered largely by members. Purchasers included a woman whose husband was out of work and a family of eight, as well as elderly people and those from dual-income households.
The Rev. Tim Simpson, senior pastor, said the economic downturn of recent months has made the need to address issues of hunger all the more critical.
"Suddenly, it [isn't] just a need of the poor, but a need of the middle class to get more bang for your buck as far as food," he said.
Karen Al-Faleh of Germantown was initially surprised that the program was open to all, but upon collecting her box said she appreciated the savings in both time and money.
"I work full-time, so it's very hard for me to get to the store," Al-Faleh said. "And I see some healthy choices in here that I might not otherwise buy, so healthy choices, that's a plus, and of course, the price can't be matched. … It will be good for our budget with gas and utilities and all going up."
And the service hours will accumulate quickly since Al-Faleh works with 4-H, serves as a Cub Scout leader and volunteers at Greenridge.
Turner hopes knowledge of the program will grow as fliers are sent to area elementary schools, churches and organizations.
"[Greenridge] is really trying to reach out to the community in ways that are really tangible," she said.
Derrick said she was impressed by her first experience with the program and would be ordering another box for December.
"I have a 17-year-old son," she said. "If you've looked at the price of fruits and vegetables lately, anything helps. It's a good deal."
To sign up for SHARE through Greenridge Baptist Church, call 301-972-0271, ext. 105, or send an e-mail to share@
greenridgebaptist.org by Dec. 7 for the next grocery pick-up day of Dec. 20.
For a complete list of sites or to find out more about the program, visit www.sharedc.org.
