The 3rd Annual Summer in the City Campaign is in full swing!
A couple years ago, recognizing the great need our pantries have in the summer months, we launched Summer in the City. There were a variety of reasons: very few organizations collect food in the summer, so there was great need, but also little competition! Kids are off for the summer, so Mom and Dad are preparing an extra meal each day. And, many pantries close for a couple of weeks or up to a month (we do not!) so you pick up some extra clients. And, most importantly, while our donors vacation in the summer, our clients do not.
The first year (we had only been doing this a few months) we collected 18,000 cans, the second year 56,000 and this year, we are poised to collect north of 75,000 cans! Of course, a lot goes into this. We have to get commitments from the churches, order and deliver the shopping bags, write bulletin announcements and fliers, rent U-Haul trucks, and arrange for volunteers on both ends to load and unload the groceries. This, of course, is in addition to our regular weekly delivery of our Signature Items — fresh produce, milk and eggs, meat and poultry.
We are delighted to inform you that 22 churches are participating this year, our best effort yet!
In the District, we have the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Annunciation, St. Thomas Apostle and Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
In Maryland, we have St. Peter’s, Olney; Our Lady of Grace, St. Michael Archangel, St. Bernadette and St. Mark’s Episcopal, all in Silver Spring; St. Mary’s Shrine, Barnesville; St. Paul’s, Damascus; St. Patrick’s, St. Mary’s, St. Raphael’s and St. Elizabeth’s, all in Rockville; Resurrection, Burtonsville; St. Jerome’s, Hyattsville; St. Nicholas, Laurel; St. Francis Assisi, Derwood; St. John Neumann, Gaithersburg; Holy Redeemer, Kensington; and Holy Cross, Garrett Park.
We also had St. Peter’s and Blessed Sacrament Schools conduct a campaign during their last week of school. And, for the second year, we have the High School and Middle School Summer Service Work Camps at Resurrection participating, as part of the Greg Gannon Canned Food Drive. Those students will collect door to door in the Burtonsville area during July!
So, give us a shout if you would like to volunteer. We would love to have you join our campaign!