A few weeks ago, Michael Moon, Leah Moon and Jeff Warner were strangers. Now, the three are collaborating to feed residents of Greenbelt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Feed Greenbelt initiative offers prepared meals for pickup at the New Deal Café on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is no cost for meals, but those interested must register online at mcfcc.org/feedgreenbelt.
When news spread in late March of the predicted surge in COVID-19 cases in Prince George’s County, Michael Moon, who, with Leah runs the DC Vegan catering company, felt compelled to do something to help the community access nutritious meals. He says, “I was seeing all of the things going on nationally with José Andrés [who runs World Central Kitchen]. So I was just thinking what would a program like that look like for the community?”
Moon reached out to Mayor Colin Byrd, who put him in touch with others interested in similar altruistic pursuits. He eventually got in contact with Warner, a pastor with the Maryland Christian Fellowship (MCF), who had also been contacting the mayor with a desire to help out. MCF has a long track record of assisting members of the church with food insecurity, and maintains a list of COVID-19 resources on its website (mcfcc.org/ covidresources). Warner and the Moons shared a similar vision and in the span of a few weeks were on a fast track to feeding the hungry in Greenbelt.
Everyone involved stresses that the program is truly intended only as a service to others. The food is vegan because it is the Moons’ culinary area of expertise, not because they are trying to encourage anyone to make a lifestyle change during the pandemic. Warner stresses an emphasis on the meals being free as “Free is good” is the tagline of MCF. Giving, he says, “…best demonstrates God’s love for us.” Sensitive to the stigma that can accompany asking for help, Leah Moon explains the online process of requesting is “very anonymous.”
The program is in its second week now, after a very successful first two distributions. Warner says the team had six families come out to retrieve the 20 or so meals last week, and that eight or 10 families have signed up this week. Warner believes the team has potential to distribute many more meals at one time given adequate time to prepare.
Feed Greenbelt is encouraging more people to sign up for meals to be distributed next week (on May 20 and 23) and beyond, or to donate to the initiative through the MCF website. Each donation of $10 goes directly and fully to producing more meals.