U.S. VRC’s 1MD BN

activated its response to COVID-19 consequential food insecurity for

communities in the MD capitol area. Members assisted a local church with operating a drive-through Food Point of Distribution (POD) at the local Takoma Park elementary school and remained on active response one Saturday every two weeks for six (6) months. The POD was generously supplied by the Capitol Area Food Bank and included shelf-stable foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat and poultry, and fresh eggs, milk and baked goods. Vehicles served increased from 200+ per day in September to 400+ per day by March, largely facilitated by U.S. VRC’s initiative to re-engineer the POD traffic flow through a staging area parking lot a few blocks away. The new traffic flow also addressed neighborhood concerns about blocked access to and from their driveways. U.S. VRC’s goal was to improve and optimize Montgomery County’s COVID-19 response food supply chain in Takoma Park to provided needed healthy food choices to hungry families.

An estimated 680,000+ nourishing meals were provided

over the 12 Saturdays U.S. VRC assisted with this POD

operation. (Assumptions: 1.8 families per vehicle on

average, 5 people per family, one week of meals each.)