U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen delivered an oversized $750,000 check to North Bethesda-based food distribution bank, So What Else? to mark their sixth anniversary. Maryland’s District 18 delegation contributed an additional $150,000.
Like every other Saturday morning for the past six years, volunteers of all ages lifted boxes of fresh produce, fruit, bread and gently placed them in the trunks of a line of cars that threaded around the warehouse area. Restaurants, including Sardi’s and Mamma Lucia, donated containers of individual dinners.
“It really is nice to be at an event where people come together,” Van Hollen said, thanking staff and volunteers for “all the good you do.”
Bob Schless co-founded the nonprofit with Dave Silbert. Schless explained that all the food their nonprofit distributes used to end up in the trash. But since the pandemic, they’ve been rescuing food from grocery stores, farms and restaurants and handing it out to neighbors in need.
Since March 2020, So What Else? has distributed 125 million meals.
The nonprofit’s large trucks make 600 weekly deliveries throughout the D.C. area. Their “seven trucks run seven days a week,” Schless said. So What Else? has grown to include 80 full-time employees and constantly more volunteers.
So What Else? is named for a question the cofounders asked each other when they saw a real need: “So what else can we do to help?”
“The question mark isn’t just a logo. It’s a call to action,” Silbert said. “We are building this thing on spirit and hope.”
The co-founders stepped up during the pandemic and haven’t slowed down since. In fact, Schless said the demand for assistance has grown since the government shutdown and federal layoffs. “It blows me away every single week.”
Maryland Del. Emily Shetty told those gathered at the anniversary celebration that she grew up in poverty and knows what it is like to go without. She thanked the nonprofit for not just providing healthy food, but also for doing it with “a smile and kindness.”
Added State Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, “If you have a need, So What Else? will serve it.”
Montgomery County Councilmember Kate Stewart also praised those involved. “Thanks for showing up on the days when it is hard,” and the weather is bad and it seems so early to help out on a weekend, she said.
The federal government’s cutbacks to food and other social services programs “is cruel and heartbreaking,” Stewart said. But organizations like this that partner with the government to “meet people’s needs with the dignity they deserve” goes a long way, she said.
Van Hollen said the money he secured with U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks worked to allocate for programs like So What Else? “will support the expansion of food rescue and distribution efforts, allowing them to serve an additional 2,500 families per week in Montgomery, Frederick and Prince George’s Counties as well as Baltimore City.”
