Hunger Ministry

We serve anyone living in the 20895 ZIP code. 


Distribution: On the second Monday of each month, recipients pick up groceries and store gift cards at St. Paul's fellowship hall, or meet delivery drivers. We also offer pick-up at the church office, Tuesday-Thursday between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. Details for each distribution night are also explained in letters provided to each household. 


To be added to the list of people we serve: Please email hunger@stpaulsk.org to get started, or walk-in on distribution night and fill out a simple form. New recipients living in the 20895 ZIP code area are welcome at any point in the year. 


What we check: At sign-up time and once a year thereafter, we ask all recipients to show a piece of mail with their current address in the 20895 ZIP code, to verify their home is within our service area. That's it! 

  • There are NO income or work requirements. 
  • We do NOT ask about family or immigration status. 
  • We do NOT share our list with any other organizations or government agencies. 
  • You do NOT need a referral from another agency - simply contact us or walk in.


Defining our service area by ZIP code allows us to scale our program in a sustainable way. For additional food resources that serve surrounding communities, please scroll down the page.


Interested in volunteering? We need help each month sorting, bagging, taking inventory, greeting families, and making deliveries. We have a particular need for Spanish-speaking volunteers or those with other fluent second languages. SSL hours are available. Contact hunger@stpaulsk.org to get in touch with our Hunger Ministry volunteer coordinator Pat Maloney, and he will send you the volunteer sign-up information!

Donations to feed hungry neighbors

Our donors and volunteers make it possible for St. Paul's Hunger Ministry to provide food assistance year-round! Please consider donating one of the grocery items listed below. 


If you prefer to make a financial contribution, you can do so at our Giving page. We also gratefully receive checks made out to St. Paul's UMC with "Hunger Ministry" on the memo line. Funds are used to buy food at bulk rates and to purchase grocery store cards that enable our recipients to buy fresh produce, meat, dairy, and personal hygiene products. 


Prefer to volunteer your time? Contact hunger@stpaulsk.org and we'll find a job for you!


Please Remember:

  • We do not accept glass containers. Glass breaks and the shards are dangerous for our volunteers and recipients! (Also, have you ever tried mopping up an entire jar's worth of tomato sauce off of boxes and bags? Not fun.)
  • We can't give out any "expired" food. Please check the sell-by/best-by/use-by date. It should be at least a full month in the future from your donation time.


REQUESTED ITEMS

Box of breakfast cereal

Instant oatmeal

Soup

Rice

Beans

Pasta

Pasta Sauce - can or plastic jar

Mac & Cheese

Canned Chicken Breast

Canned Tuna (or other fish)

Canned Vegetables

Fruit (including applesauce) - cans or plastic jars

Peanut Butter

Shelf stable milk, oat milk, or nut milk - cartons

Ground coffee

Cooking oil (vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.) - approx 48 oz. size bottle


Donations can be dropped off in the Narthex on Sunday mornings or at the church office during office hours.

Resources for those outside our service area

St. Paul's provides food and grocery-store gift cards to those living in the 20895 ZIP code. Defining our service area allows us to scale our program in a sustainable way. 


All families who receive food through St. Paul's are asked to show proof of address once a year to verify the ZIP code. We do not ask for proof of income, citizenship status, or require personal information beyond proof-of-address, and we do not share our clients' information.


Sometimes people may approach members of the church asking for assistance directly. St. Paul's leaders would like to encourage our community to offer fellowship and lift up one another in prayer, but to mindfully give only through channels that provide structure for the safety of all involved. For someone in immediate need, phone the county's 311 hotline or Montgomery County Police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.


Here are helpful resources for additional aid or to assist those living outside of our 20895-ZIP code service area. (Please note: St. Paul's UMC is not affiliated with these organizations nor responsible for their services or policies.)

Thank You, Thank you

During covid, before we figured out how to safely hold an in-person distribution event, our Hunger Ministry reached vulnerable families in the 20895 ZIP code by mailing grocery store gift cards. Sometimes we receive letters and calls reminding us that our work truly impacts families with fewer means. Here are just a few messages we received recently:


"We just wanted to reach out and thank you and your church from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and generosity once again. We're continually humbled and inspired by our community's steady support and care for us and so greatly appreciate it!"


"Thank you for all the great help you have provided for our family."


If you live in the 20895 area and need assistance, please contact us at 301-933-7933.

National UMC & Campus Kitchens

Making Meals Possible

Since 2018, St. Paul's has provided a dinner at our Hunger Ministry monthly food distribution. The meal is made possible by Campus Kitchen DC, a food ministry of National UMC, which rescues good food, has it transformed by Campus Kitchens, and then delivers it to programs serving those in need. 


Since covid times, St. Paul's has provided these meals in "To-Go" containers, for families to pick up at the same time they receive their groceries.


You can read more about the mission of National UMC and learn about their efforts region-wide at https://nationalchurch.org/. Please scroll down for more information on the Campus Kitchens program. We are proud to be community partners, working together to eliminate hunger.

Campus Kitchens

Each month, St. Paul's volunteers and families participating in our Hunger Ministry efforts are invited to pick up a prepared meal when they arrive to pick up their grocery items. The dinner comes to us monthly through our partners at National UMC and their work with the Campus Kitchens Project.


Based in Washington, DC, the Campus Kitchens Project links schools large and small with volunteers dedicated to helping end hunger and reducing food waste. Volunteers recover good food from cafeterias and university food services programs. These are fresh prepared dishes or raw surplus ingredients that have gone unused and would otherwise be thrown out. Volunteers and partners then help prepare dishes and deliver meals to community-based programs like ours, in neighborhoods throughout their local area.


At Campus Kitchens, college student and youth volunteers gain first-hand experience in community service and leadership. Campus Kitchens initiatives also provide culinary training and educational opportunities for underemployed adults and those transitioning to work and re-entering society following incarceration. There are currently over 60 schools across the nation participating in Campus Kitchens.


To learn more, visit https://www.campuskitchens.org/


Past partnerships

Hungry Harvest: This group reclaims fresh produce that would go to waste such as grocery store overstock or mis-shapen "ugly" fruits and vegetables. Individuals subscribe to a box delivery program, and for every box delivered, Hungry Harvest delivers produce to charitable organizations working to reduce and end hunger. Subscribers from our region support produce distribution to food desert and low income public school areas in Baltimore, MD. Visit https://www.hungryharvest.net/ to learn more about Hungry Harvest's mission, delivery area, and sign-up options. 


Rise Against Hunger: As part of St. Paul's "Great Day of Service" in 2017, our church community worked together to weigh dry ingredients, seal bags, and complete over 30,000 meals kits. These were added to a shipping container with another 285,120 meals from the National Capital area warehouse and sent to partner agencies for distribution in El Salvador. Rise Against Hunger meals served 20,000 beneficiaries in El Salvador at 100 different feeding centers. https://www.riseagainsthunger.org/


Interfaith Works Shelters: What do we do with leftovers from Hunger Ministry meals and large events at St. Paul's? In the past, we have donated prepared dishes to homeless shelters in our area to feed their residents. Although Interfaith Works closed the nearby Men's Carroll House Shelter, we continue to support the womens' shelters in Rockville and Silver Spring with meals throughout the year. Read more about our ongoing Shelter Meals efforts on our Justice and Compassion page.