Off-site Family Food Distribution Program
See our current distribution schedule to Receive Food Assistance from Nourish Now.
Every week, this Program serves individuals and families throughout Montgomery County, MD, at local schools, religious institutions, and community centers. Each location is strategically selected to help households with the highest food insecurity rates.
We donate a five-day supply of nutritious perishable and nonperishable food and beverages to 19,200 individuals, equating to 4,800 families monthly from our 8 distribution sites. Everyone is welcome on a first-come, first-served basis.
We coordinate with Montgomery County’s DHHS and Montgomery County’s Emergency Food Assistance Task Force to best serve the greatest number of Montgomery County residents in need.
S.N.A.C.K. for MCPS
Student Nutrition Access for Classes K-12
Student Nutrition Access in Classes K-12 (S.N.A.C.K.) serves to eliminate student hunger as a barrier to education during the school day. Hunger can constantly distract students, affecting their focus and ability to think in class. Growing brains need adequate nutrition to function properly daily for healthy, long-term development.
In 2022, approximately 40% of MCPS students received free or reduced meals (FARM) at school. However, a new analysis by the State of Maryland showed an additional 27,000 MCPS students qualified for subsidized meals but were not enrolled, meaning they are unable to get the nourishment necessary for a productive school day. In addition, 53% of students enrolled in Free and Reduced Meal programs miss the free breakfast that is offered.
Nourish Now steps in to supply healthy snacks for more than 4,000 at-risk students at 11 different schools each month during first-period and after-school programming. By giving food to students at the beginning and end of the school day, we aim to increase opportunities for academic success. Parents, teachers, counselors, and principals have shared that their children and students have improved significantly in several aspects of their education, including participation, attention, and grades, with the help of this program.
You can support this program by hosting a snack drive, donating gift cards, or making monetary donations HERE.
Nourish neighborhoods
Our cornerstone program, Nourish Neighborhoods, strengthens communities one neighborhood at a time. The two main objectives that are the driving force of the Nourish Neighborhoods program are the family dinner and building community ties.
At Nourish Now, we believe that the family dinner is a vital part of the everyday life of families. It is a time to connect with loved ones. Unfortunately, many community members do not have the resources to experience the family dinner regularly. The Nourish Neighborhoods program guarantees freshly prepared meals for their families at each distribution. We find that a more connected community creates greater well-being for all. This is why, at the center of Nourish Neighborhoods, we connect our generous Food Donor Partners to the neighborhoods in which we reside.
The program provides a five-day supply of perishable and nonperishable food, highlighted by the freshly prepared dinner donated. A distribution site is set up for each Nourish Neighborhood location at community centers, low-income housing complexes, and veterans’ organizations to provide the best opportunity so that individuals’ families enjoy a delicious, nourishing meal. If you know of a neighborhood that would benefit from our Nourish Neighborhoods Program, please get in touch with us today.
Montgomery county service Consolidation Hub distributions
Nourish Now donates food weekly to the 8 Montgomery County Service Consolidation Hubs. These partnerships focus on donating a wide variety of multicultural food, including high-quality fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, and more. In addition, we donate 2,500 loaves of bread spread throughout all of the county food hubs. Through this collaborative effort, we share information and resources about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (S.N.A.P/Food Stamps), and other government food assistance programs and share best practices served. Nourish Now donates food weekly to the 8 Montgomery County Service Consolidation Hubs.
Food to nonprofit partner organizations
Since Nourish Now was founded in 2011, we have made it a crucial part of our mission to help support and partner with nonprofits throughout the DC Metropolitan area. Nourish Now works closely with nonprofits to ensure every family, senior, student, and veteran gets their needed help. Each month, we donate more than 30,000 pounds of food that we recover from our generous food donor partners to over 30 organizations. This maximizes Nourish Now’s impact on our region while strengthening the nonprofit sector by getting nutritious, nourishing food on the tables of the people they serve.