Fighting Food Insecurity During a Pandemic

I recently caught up with Roxanne Yamashita, Executive Director of Small Things Matter (STM). Our exchange, which has been edited lightly, is below.

What does everyone need to know about Small Things Matter? What about Kokua Foods?

Small Things Matter, a teen-led nonprofit, is founded on the idea that small acts of kindness can make a big impact on someone’s life. Our mission is to educate our youth and encourage their altruism, engage our community in charitable giving, help our members develop their leadership skills, and perpetuate kindness in our world through our three programs: Kokua Foods, Books for Bedtime, and Crafting for Charity.

Kokua Foods is the name of our food distribution program. Kokua is a Hawaiian word meaning “help.” Its deeper meaning is to give selflessly without any expectation of personal gain and that’s the philosophy that drives our work. We feed those in need largely through our food-rescue efforts and supplement these efforts with purchased foods as needed.

How has COVID-19 impacted food insecurity?

The pandemic brought on by COVID-19 has greatly increased food insecurity. In Montgomery County the rate has doubled to 20%. Thankfully, in response to the pandemic, many groups — including groups that were not originally doing any food work — jumped in to help get [U.S. Department of Agriculture] USDA boxes and other food provided by Montgomery County out to those in need.

How has COVID-19 affected STM’s work?

Prior to the pandemic we served 300 families in need once a month. Now we serve over 1,000 families in Montgomery County and 1,000 families in Prince George’s County in response to the increased need. Thanks to wonderful partnerships with Wegmans, Imperfect Foods, Silver Spring Cares, Trader Joe’s, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, Montgomery County, I Support the Girls, TPSS Co-op, Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church, St. Luke’s Church, and Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, the 9:30 Club, and many, many others we have been able to provide families in need with fresh produce, meat, dairy, and bakery items 2–4 times each month as well as nonperishable foods, cleaning kits, and personal care items. From March 2020–21, STM distributed 1.2 million pounds of food to help…