WASHINGTON 鈥� Inside the warehouse headquarters for the Capital Area Food Bank, volunteers are busy, running back and forth to fill bags with 30,000 pounds of fresh apples, carrots, potatoes and onions 鈥� all food that鈥檒l be handed out with bags of nonperishable items too at what they鈥檙e calling 鈥減op-up markets鈥� throughout the D.C. area.
鈥淲e call these pop-up markets but they鈥檙e totally free of charge,鈥� said Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank.
鈥淲e are not selling any food. We鈥檙e not selling it at reduced prices. It鈥檚 totally free of charge for those with a federal ID or a federal contractor ID.鈥�
The grocery giveaways are on top of the normal operations of the pantries, and are being held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the parking lots of these five Giant Food grocery stores around the area:
- 1050 Brentwood Road, Brentwood, Washington, D.C. 20018
- 6800 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Va. 22306
- 10480 Campus Way South, Largo, Md. 20774
- 7074 Allentown Road, Camp Springs, Md. 20748
- 12051 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. 20852
The locations were chosen based on where large concentrations of federal workers and contractors live, and where they鈥檝e been getting calls from people asking about their options.
鈥淭his past week and beyond we鈥檝e had calls from individuals just saying 鈥榳e know you鈥檙e the food bank, we鈥檙e not exactly sure if we qualify, where do we go, how do we navigate the system?鈥� said Muthiah.
So these markets are targeted at those workers 鈥渨ho typically would have an income level that鈥檚 high enough if you will that they don鈥檛 qualify for food stamps, but given that they鈥檝e missed a paycheck.鈥�
She said these pop-up markets will continue each and every Saturday 鈥渦ntil federal workers get their next paycheck.鈥� But calling it 鈥渁n experiment,鈥� the locations could change as other grocery stores reach out to help and the food bank is able to assess where the need is greatest.
