Nourish Now, Other MoCo Orgs, Provide Free Food and Camps for Students

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. – Did you know that even though there are 120 locations in Montgomery County where students can get free lunch throughout the summer, only 9,500 out of 55,000 eligible students receive food each day?
To help close the summer hunger gap Rockville food bank Nourish Now is collaborating with local community groups to feed students in need.

During June, Nourish Now provided lunches, healthy snacks, and bottled water for 90 Elementary and Middle schoolers during two weeks of summer camps in Gaithersburg and Silver Spring, led by long-time collaborator So What Else (SWE). Through an initiative called Feed The Mind, SWE offers fun and educational activities, while Nourish Now provides fresh food donations, to benefit underserved youth in the DC metro region.

For the third year in a row, supporter Rose Financial Solutions donated 4,000 bottles of water and more than 1,000 sandwiches and snack bags, totaling over 5,000 pounds. Food drives and special projects from Coldwell Banker and Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) yielded another 3,000 pounds of food donations for these summer programs. Fresh produce, beverages and prepared meals also are donated by some of Nourish Now’s Food Donor Partners, including From the Farmer, High Point Events, MedImmune, Simply Fresh Events, Target, and Whole Foods.

In July, Feed The Mind collaborations continue with more summer camps in DC, Prince George’s County, and Baltimore, serving more than 150 additional campers. Nourish Now also is collaborating with the organization Identity to provide meals and snacks for 50 children at Stedwick Elementary (Montgomery Village) & Redland Middle School (Rockville), as well as 60 kids with Sea Turtles Summer Camp at Flora Singer Elementary (Silver Spring).

Throughout the entire month of August, Monday to Friday, Nourish Now and So What Else will provide free food and programming for 50 kids during Feed The Mind camp at Rockville Housing Enterprise. Programming activities include nutrition education, yoga, spice painting, overall wellness, gardening, basketball, and of course, eating lunch.

Support these summer programs by donating to Nourish Now online:
https://nourish-now.networkforgood.com/projects/46074-1-00-1-meal

Learn more about MCPS lunch locations and free summer meals offered in the county:
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/foodserv/special/default.aspx?id=385164

To find out about openings at these camps, contact So What Else:
https://www.sowhatelse.org/summer-camp/

About Nourish Now
Nourish Now is a 501c3 nonprofit food bank, specializing in food recovery and providing donations from grocers, caterers, restaurants, bakeries, and other food donors for the benefit of children, families, and the elderly, as well as shelters, food pantries, and other organizations working to end hunger. Viable food partners are identified in the community, and donations of food are recovered and redistributed through our network. Nourish Now’s mission is to solve two major social issues simultaneously: food waste and hunger. Through three core programs, more than 700 families each month and 90 like-minded organizations receive recovered food donations.