A Little Extra Help

It has been more than year since a federal budget reconciliation bill cut $167 billion from SNAP benefits. The Montgomery Food Council has reported that nearly 500 households in Montgomery County lost their benefits, leaving them with fewer resources to afford groceries, explains Ken Flemmer, co-director of Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) in Silver Spring, Md.

With the help of grant “seed money” from Adventist Development and Relief Agency, ACSGW is piloting a new program to provide extra help in addition to the food baskets, diapers and personal hygiene products they are already distributing.

ACSGW leaders have identified 100 of the most vulnerable families already coming to the center. In June, they started giving this group a monthly $25 supermarket gift card. In July, they added a $20 voucher to the Langley Park Crossroads Community Farmers Market. 

“With prices what they are, $45 a month seems so small, but when you need medication for your headache-it makes all the difference,” says Flemmer.

Each month ACSGW provides food for about 410 families to prepare some 19,000 meals. In addition, 150 families receive baby diapers and hygiene kits. 

The center also has a free community thrift shop where they distribute clothing, jackets, housewares and linens.