Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Jamie Raskin to Participate in Manna Food Center Food Drive in Montgomery County – January 19 & 20

Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Jamie Raskin to Participate in Manna Food Center Food Drive in Montgomery County, January 19 & 20

18 Elected Officials from Local, State, and Federal Government will join Manna volunteers for MLK Service Weekend Food Drive across Montgomery County.

(Gaithersburg, Maryland) – Manna Food Center (Manna) is pleased to announce Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Jamie Raskin will participate in Manna’s MLK Service Weekend Food Drive. Along with Van Hollen and Raskin, elected officials from the city, county, and state government will take part in Manna’s food drive to honor the legacy and life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The MLK Service Weekend Food Drive is one of the major food drives Manna holds each year. This year’s food drive will take place across 18 Giant stores with volunteers collecting food from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, January 19th and Sunday, January 20th. Manna CEO Jackie DeCarlo and Sen. Van Hollen will kick-off the food drive at 9:30-10:00 AM on Saturday, January 19 at the Westfield Wheaton Giant (2900 University Blvd West). On Sunday morning (starting at 9 AM), Rep. Raskin will be at the Westfield Wheaton Giant with Manna volunteers to greet shoppers and highlight the importance of food access for residents. Sixteen elected officials have confirmed their participation and will be paired with volunteers to collect donations at stores across the county, they include: U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin State Senators Cheryl Kagan and Jeff Waldstreicher Maryland House of Delegates • Gabe Acevero • Lorig Charkoudian • Kathleen Dumais • Lesley Lopez • David Moon • Lily Qi • Jared Solomon • Jheanelle Wilkins Montgomery County Council • Gabe Albornoz • Evan Glass • Will Jawando • Hans Riemer City of Gaithersburg • Mayor Jud Ashman • Council Member Laurie-Anne Sayles “We are excited to have Montgomery County leaders representing all levels of government participating in our food drive,” said Jackie DeCarlo, chief executive officer for Manna Food Center. “We welcome the opportunity to bring greater awareness to the needs of residents who face hunger in our community.” DeCarlo notes that Manna Food Center relies on generous food donations from local grocery stores, businesses, community groups, and residents to feed neighbors in need across Montgomery County. More than 63,000 residents are food insecure – living with uncertainty around food for themselves and their family. Manna served 31,200 residents in the last fiscal year through its food distribution and weekend school bag program. An interactive map of food drive locations is available at http://bit.ly/MLKFoodDrive.