Showing Up and Speaking Up

The month of May brought potent reminders of the necessity of showing up for one another. We received news that the IW Food Pantry located at the Essential Needs Center was going to lose funding and be forced to close. Thankfully, we can now share the Food Pantry will remain open, thanks to our community showing up in support of IW! 

After going through the County’s procurement process, IW was not selected to be the food pantry provider for the Twinbrook and Rockville region. We learned this meant that there would no longer be any county sponsored food pantry located within the City of Rockville. In the past fiscal year IW has had over 21,000 client visits to the Food Pantry. Losing access to this vital neighborhood resource would have been devastating to these clients, especially those who rely on public transit.   

With this in mind, we realized there was a small window of opportunity to make our voices heard and ensure that our clients would continue to be served.  

We mobilized a group of targeted, effective advocates to share their concerns. This group, which included food pantry clients and elected officials like City of Rockville Mayor Monique Ashton, moved quickly to communicate their experiences and how essential the pantry is to Rockville residents challenged by food insecurity. Thanks to their advocacy our message was heard and now the pantry will remain open.  

Thank you for showing up for us. There are more troubling times ahead where we will continue to need your voice. The recent Point In Time survey results released in May showed a 32% increase this year in the amount of neighbors experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County. It’s a comfort to know that we can depend on one another to show up and advocate for the needs of all our community as we see more and more of our neighbors needing help.  

Mayor Ashton reminded me that sometimes the helpers need help too. With your support, there is no doubt in my mind that we can overcome these challenges and walk with our neighbors on their path to stability.  

Courtney Hall, CEO