November is the annual Month of Abundance at this parish. We collect nonperishable foods and present them at the altar each Sunday in November to help people that do not have enough to eat. These collections lead up to Abundance Sunday on November 23, 2008, when all the proceeds will be donated to Loudoun Interfaith Relief.

The Ashburn Today newspaper recently (September 26, 2008) ran an article pointing out the serious need "to boost support for the Loudoun Interfaith Relief food pantry in Leesburg." The article indicated that Executive Director Bonnie Inman had raised the possibility of having to turn people away if more supplies were not forthcoming. The article went on to say that, "Last year Interfaith Relief served an additional 5,000 people, but food donations were only up by five pounds." Unfortunately, the same trend is evident at this parish, causing concern with Marilyn Eckert’s shepherd group, which organizes the collection.

Eckert provided figures to illustrate this. Donations totaled 11,984 pounds in 2006, but only 7,045 in 2007. So far, in 2008, the total is just 2,333 pounds. To further document the downward trend, the last three Septembers have seen totals of 670 pounds, 298 pounds, and 125 pounds respectively. Eckert said, "This is a terrible drop in donations when the need at Loudoun Interfaith Relief has gone up 14% in numbers of families requesting help." It is expected that the amounts of food donated will increase substantially over the upcoming holidays, but it is also important to note the declining averages the rest of each year.

Tracking the flow of food goods collected by Marilyn Eckert’s shepherd group from the church to Loudoun Interfaith Relief’s intermediary location requires a trip to the new facility in Leesburg on Miller Street near the Leesburg Airport. Interfaith Relief’s lease on the "old red barn" on South King had run out and was not renewed due to redevelopment plans of the town of Leesburg for the downtown area, according to Wanda Moloney, Client Relations Manager of Loudoun Interfaith Relief. The more expensive new home for Interfaith Relief is entirely run and supported by personal and corporate donations, and at the moment its stock is obviously depleted — hundreds of empty crates line the walls.

The final destination of the foods collected is the hundreds of families of Loudoun County in need of assistance and sustenance. Of the 276 families served in September 2008, 222 were "income eligible" according to USDA standards as detailed by Ms. Moloney. She said the other families were often recent victims of job losses, rising mortgages or medical bills. Although the majority of those needing food supplies come directly to the center, Moloney said she regularly spends two days a week, in coordination with Loudoun Caregivers, arranging the delivery of food to homebound, mostly elderly, families. This often involves sorting for diabetic or other special needs people, and she cited a touching example of one of these. Moloney said one of their regular deliveries goes to an elderly woman caring for her 62 year old autistic son. The mother told Moloney not to worry about her — "I have a package of hot dogs and peanut butter" — but to remember her son’s special needs. He, for instance, will only eat Campbell’s canned spaghetti, not that of other brands. Moloney remarked, "It’s amazing how things turn out. Just the day before we had received a large donation of Campbell’s spaghetti rather than the brands normally received."

The current economic conditions make it likely that even more families will need assistance as the year closes and the calendar turns to 2009. Loudoun Interfaith Relief is hungry for more food, and Wanda Moloney at Interfaith indicated that cash donations — a check made out to Interfaith Relief, or a grocery store gift card — are also appreciated and indeed needed to purchase the necessary perishable goods which cannot be collected. This may be easier for some parishioners than physically bringing in donations.

To learn more about Loudoun Interfaith Relief visit www.interfaithrelief.org.