Dear Friends,

As our Jewish and Christian neighbors celebrate important holidays and spring continues to bloom, it may be tempting to leave the house or to gather with friends and loved ones. However, it is incredibly important to continue to social distance: stay home, go to stores only if absolutely necessary for food or medicine, do not interact with anyone who does not live in your house. Please do get out and enjoy the weather, but do so close to home and maintain a distance of at least six feet from those outside of your household.

For my  family, Easter will be very different this year. We'll participate in church from home. We won't see grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins. We'll have our own egg hunt in our own yard. We will do this to protect ourselves and others.

If you must go to the store or must be around people, please wear a mask. While there has been conflicting advice about masks, we know now that you can protect yourself and others by wearing a mask or other face covering. The CDC has a video explaining how to make a mask out of a scarf, bandanna or t-shirt. Watch here. 

Essential workers and food distribution volunteers in our community need masks. We have residents ready to sew masks but need material. I f you have masks to donate or can donate material for others to make masks, please reply to this email to let me know. Thank you!

I'm proud that my office, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization (CKAR) CDC, has launched Greater Riverdale Cares . The goal of this partnership is to get additional food and hygiene items to vulnerable individuals and families in the greater Riverdale area. 

Our first two projects are to supplement existing food distribution sites and to support local restaurants to keep their staff on payroll by purchasing and distributing meals to families. CKAR has created a Go Fund Me campaign to support this effort. All donations to Greater Riverdale Cares will go toward purchasing meals at locally-owned restaurants to give to local families in need. 

SEED distributes food every Wednesday at 12:00 pm at East Pines Community Center, 5819 Eastpine Drive, Riverdale. 

Thanks to a partnership with World Central Kitchen and the Washington Nationals, SEED is now distributing prepared meals in addition to bagged groceries. Thanks to the Greater Riverdale Cares initiative SEED added more fresh produce and protein to this Wednesday's distribution bags through donations from the University of Maryland and Christian Life Center's Passion & Compassion Ministry. 

In partnership with IRC and Peace City Church several hundred meals from World Central Kitchen will be distributed today to our resettled refugee and asylee community members at an apartment complex in Riverdale. More than 400 meals from World Central Kitchen partner and locally owned restaurant  Sardi's will be delivered daily to two senior apartment buildings in College Park, Attick Towers and Spellman House, with volunteer support from the office of County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, City of College Park, and Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk.

All told, we are distributing more than 600 prepared meals in our community this week alone. I anticipate that number will triple with the support of our partners and you. 

Christian Life Center's Passion & Compassion Ministries' fresh produce distribution will take place again on Friday, April 17. Please watch my email newsletter and social media for the time and location of this distribution.

College Park Community Food Bank will distribute food at the Church of the Nazarene on Saturday, April 18 at 10:00 am at 9704 Rhode Island Avenue, College Park.

Residents of the Town of Riverdale Park in need can receive a $25 ($15 if you already receive SNAP benefits) voucher to shop at the Riverdale Park Farmers Market every Thursday from 3:00 - 7:00 pm at the Riverdale Park Town Center, 4650 Queensbury Road. Apply for the voucher here. You only need to provide proof of Riverdale Park residence and indicate a need for assistance.

PGCPS "Grab and Go" meals are only available two days a week going forward to reduce the number of times families need to leave their homes. Because of Spring Break, TUESDAY, April 13, and Wednesday, April 14, from 10am - 1pm, are the next opportunities to pick up meals. After that, two days of meals will be distributed every Monday and three days of meals will be distributed every Wednesday. There are six meal distribution sites in District 3 and a total of 42 across the County. Click here to see the full list. Please note, every child between the ages of 2 and 18 will be given  meals at the PGCPS meal sites, no questions asked. If an adult picks up meals without the child present, the adult will need to show a student report card or have the student ID number.

Reminder! Employ Prince George's has launched a Prince George's County Hourly Employee COVID-19 Relief Fund. To apply, register at https://employpgedge.com/ then select "Apply for the Prince George's County Hourly Employee COVID-19 Relief Fund" and follow the prompts. The fund will provide $200 gift cards to assist hourly employees before federal unemployment insurance kicks in, and will prioritize hourly employees making $19/hour or less. If you need help filling out the form, or if you are a Prince George's County resident and do not have a social security number, please call 301-618-8445 for assistance.

The federal government has increased the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Please apply for benefits for your family today. If you have questions or need help filling out your application please call Maryland Hunger Solutions at 866-821-5552. 

Rotary International has launched a volunteer initiative to assist elderly and other high-risk individuals in picking up groceries and prescription medication. If you need assistance, call their hotline at 240-781-6586 between 9am and 6pm daily.

Please call 211 for social service needs , including homelessness, suicide prevention, domestic violence, and more.

Together Strengthening Our Community,