One week left before we open our pantry to Northeast -- can you help?

Today's post is brought to us by my new executive assistant, Christina Queen. Thanks, Christina!

This is so exciting: in just about a week, Bread for the City will open up our food pantries to Northeast DC residents for the first time ever!

I worked as Bread for the City's Southeast Center front desk coordinator for more than five years. During that time, I welcomed a lot of people who were so downtrodden that they could barely find the words to ask for help. I loved my job because I was able to connect these men and women to so many resources. I could show them that there are still good people in this world. I could help them feel human again.

But there was one really hard part of my job: we weren't able to accommodate residents of Northeast DC in our pantry. We didn't have enough resources.

We were able to write referrals to other food pantries in their community -- and I'd even call those pantries up to make sure they knew we were sending folks their way, how many and at what time. I did what I could, but it still was far less effective than serving people here at Bread for the City. Other pantries require ongoing referrals; some only allow people to come every three months; sometimes they might not even have food at all. And none of them have all the comprehensive resources that Bread for the City offers alongside our pantry.

So I can't stress enough to you how much of a step forward it will be when we extend our pantry services to them officially. And it's your support that makes this all possible.

As much as I loved my job at the front desk, I'm pleased to say that I've recently moved on to be George Jones' executive assistant. Where I used to be seeing one individual after another, now i see the big picture of all the people Bread for the City helps, and all the people who help us. It is so inspiring to know how each individual donation makes a difference -- to a person in need and to our whole community at the same time.

We expect to see at least 500 new families from Northeast turn to us in just the first few months -- and our pantry's provisions cost about $10 per person per month. If you haven't yet stepped up to rally support for our big step forward into Northeast, please make a donation today. And if you have already donated, then spread the word to your friends and family! That's how we'll keep growing into a truly city-wide community.

So please join us by making a gift today.