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We must take a stand...
Our nonprofit, So What Else (SWE), is the largest food distributor in Montgomery County, and yet we may lose the ability to fully provide for our clients because of a financial deficit at year end caused by worsening inflation, increased demand for services, and a lack of funding from the Montgomery County Government for our food program.
Since the onset of the pandemic, SWE has distributed 35 million free meals in Montgomery County in less than four years. In late 2021, after our work began attracting attention, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) approached us and asked us to help feed the County HUBS, a partnership of eight community based organizations and DHHS, because they could not continue to buy food for them as federal Covid-19 funds ran out. We immediately began feeding the HUBS throughout the county, and all we requested in return was modest support from Montgomery County to help offset these costs.
However, since July of 2023 we have received no financial support from the county for our services, totaling 4.5 million meals in a six month span, while likewise receiving no answer on 2024 support after an appropriation was denied and the grants process for nonprofit awards was delayed with no announcement in sight. As a result, we are now in grave danger of having to deny critical, lifesaving access to hunger relief for our thousands of clients due to a $250,000 dollar budget deficit.
The County has a $7 billion budget. All we are asking for is $360,000 to supplement the millions of dollars we are already raising, in order to ensure their constituents, their HUBS, can continue to receive the food access they desperately need. As prices continue to rise in grocery stores and demand for food across the county continues to grow, we are being pushed beyond our current capacity and financial means, and cannot continue to operate without significant cutbacks posed to hurt our clients, staff and volunteers.
So we are calling all individuals, all community organizations, local businesses, and supporters both former and current, please join us in taking a stand to fight for food access in our county. Donate at the bottom of this page, petition your county representatives to financially support our work, and share this message far and wide. All donations will be matched up $150,000 and are vitally needed. Every single dollar counts.
We cannot bridge the gap without you and we cannot afford to wait. Thank you.
Why our work matters.
The So What Else Hunger Relief Program was born out the need to solve two crises at once. On one hand, millions of pounds of edible, good-quality food is wasted along the supply chain every year - the number one source of waste in landfills both nationally and locally - releasing preventable carbon emissions into the atmosphere. On the other hand, 1 in 3 Marylanders are food insecure, with the burden of hunger affecting children the hardest, creating a need for free food deliveries and distributions across the state. And with those two crises in mind, our program was born.
Tackling both issues simultaenously, our hunger relief operation, based primarily out of North Bethesda, travels across city, county and state lines to recover more than 300,000lbs of food every single week. Whether they receive a call at 5:00am or 11:00pm, our team will always jump into action, operating under the guiding principal that quality food should never be wasted while others suffer from hunger. With partners such as Rhee Bros, Whole Foods Warehouse, Sudano’s, Trader Joe’s, Costco and Holly Poultry, and organizations such as the Farmlink Project connecting us to farms as far as West Virginia, our team recovers 30 - 100 pallets a day, sometimes taking 3 - 4 trips and working 12 plus hours. Just this fall alone we saved over 1.5 million farm fresh apples alone, a feat unmatched by any other team in Montgomery County.
But none of this would be possible without the fearless, tireless Hunger Relief team at So What Else. Often heroes gone unseen, our team works hard answering any call, driving any distance, lifting any amount, to protect their community from hunger.
Comprised of 20 staff members and hundreds of volunteers - many of whom either got their start as food clients and some whom still rely on our resources to feed their families - our Hunger Relief Team is a testament to the power of paying it forward and the strength of the human spirit.
Their work, their commitment, their livelihoods are in jeopardy, along with the hundreds of thousands we serve, because of our current budget deficit and lack of government support. Please don't let their efforts go in vain. Help us bridge the gap today.
The result? We are able to provide vital food resources to nearly half a million people across Maryland, DC, and beyond! Every week our recovered food is delivered to over 500 homebound individuals, 110 partner organizations, and the thousands of clients that line up at our pantries and mobile food distributions across Baltimore, Montgomery County and DC, positioning us as one of the largest food providers in the state. And the best part? It comes at no cost to the low income, first generation immigrant, and/or asylum seeking clients that need it.
This year alone we have set a county record, distributing over 9 million pounds of food across Montgomery, feeding more families and more communities than ever before.
Take action today by signing our petition urging county officials to support our hunger relief efforts!
Please note that we will never solicit donations via change.org. We do not receive any funds donated to change.org using our petition. If you are interested in donating to So What Else please use this page or by mail a check to 6901 Rockledge Drive, Suite 709, Bethesda, MD 20817. Thank you.
Help us bridge the gap by donating below!
1 Preserve Parkway Suite 150 | Rockville, MD 20850
Question? Email us at info@sowhatelse.org or call 240-602-0486
1 Preserve Parkway Suite 150 | Rockville, MD 20850
Question? Email us at info@sowhatelse.org or call 240-602-0486