MLK Weekend Food Drive Brings in 27,000 Pounds of Food
MLK Weekend Food Drive Brings In 27,000 Pounds of Food
Elected officials serve alongside Manna volunteers for the second year in a row.
(Silver Spring, Maryland) – Manna Food Center (Manna) collected a total of 27,088 pounds of food during the MLK Service Weekend Food Drive held on January 18th and 19th 2020 at nineteen participating Giant Food stores in Montgomery County.
“In what is becoming a special annual tradition, elected officials and volunteers came together to honor the spirit of Dr. King throughout this weekend of service,” said Jackie DeCarlo, chief executive officer for Manna Food Center. Even though temperatures were below freezing for part of the weekend, the food drive was still a huge success. Public Allies AmeriCorps member Isaac Manchego came out to volunteer at the White Oak Giant on Sunday afternoon. “There were so many moving parts that had to align in order for this event to run smoothly,” said Manchego. “It was really inspiring to watch all the different members of the community come together to help those most in need.”
The 13.5 tons of food will help stock Manna’s shelves for Montgomery County neighbors in need. As many as 63,000 residents live with uncertainty around food for themselves and their family. Food will be distributed to participants through more than a dozen distribution sites.
More than 200 Manna volunteers and 24 elected officials collected food items from shoppers throughout the weekend of service. Certificates of Recognition will be distributed to the top five Giant Food stores. This year’s challenge winner was Kentlands, where volunteers collected 2852 lbs. of food donations, followed by Cabin John (2716 lbs.), Westfield Wheaton (2514 lbs.), Leisureworld (2244 lbs.), and Olney (1924 lbs.).
- U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin
- State Senator Jeff Waldstreicher
- Maryland House of Delegates
- Al Carr
- Lorig Charkoudian
- David Fraser-Hidalgo
- Marc Korman
- Lesley Lopez
- Sara Love
- Julie Palakovich Carr
- Lily Qi
- Pamela Queen
- Kirill Reznik
- Emily Shetty
- Jared Solomon
- Vaughn Stewart
- Jheanelle Wilkins
- Montgomery County Council
- Gabe Albornoz
- Andrew Friedman
- Will Jawando
- Gaithersburg City Council
- Mayor Jud Ashman
- Michael Sesma
- Laurie-Anne Sayles
- Ryan Spiegel
- Rockville City Council
- Monique Ashton