Dear Friends of MUM,  

I am so grateful for your continued support of MUM’s efforts to help our many neighbors struggling to put food on the table and to stay safely housed. 2025 has been a very challenging year with many changes at the federal level affecting our neighbors – and MUM has stepped up to meet the need. We couldn’t have done it without your support!

This year we have seen a significant increase in the number of people at our food pantries and seeking emergency financial assistance to stay in their homes and to keep their utilities on. In the last 3 months with the government shutdown and as SNAP (food stamp) and other benefits were cut and eligibility requirements changed, many of our neighbors are struggling even more to put food on the table and to make ends meet. We expect 2026 to be an even more challenging year for our neighbors.

I could share many stories about the difficult situations many of our neighbors face. Maria (name changed to protect her privacy) was in tears and unsure what to do after her husband was suddenly deported by ICE. She did not have a job and had no access to their bank accounts, lease information, and other accounts. We were able to help her and her children with food and utility assistance and then connected her to other resources to support her family at this difficult time.

During the government shutdown, we saw a number of new people who were often embarrassed to ask for help and unsure of how to find resources they had never had to seek before. MUM’s staff and volunteers welcomed them with compassion and helped them get food, financial assistance, and other resources. We also added extra hours and days to our food pantry distributions so that we could serve the increased number of people in need.

This year we have also seen a large increase in the number of people seeking help after their utilities had already been disconnected. As utility rates increased, many neighbors – particularly seniors on fixed incomes – struggled to keep up with their bills. At least two families had been in their apartments without electricity for more than two weeks before they came to MUM and we provided emergency financial assistance to get the power turned back on.

We also helped Bill (name changed to protect his identity), an elderly veteran who was sleeping in his car, with food, gift cards to buy gas, and connections to other organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness. By working with other organizations, Bill was finally able to find housing. As evictions continue to rise, we are seeing more people seeking assistance to stay in their homes, as well as others like Bill who are already experiencing homelessness and often living out of their cars. 

MUM’s staff and volunteers always take the time to listen to our neighbors’ stories and to support them through difficult times. Knowing that families with small children are living in the dark, that neighbors have to sleep in their cars, that some are living in fear and are unsure where to seek help and afraid to do so, just breaks our hearts and makes our team work harder to do all we can to support them. While we work to provide immediate support, we also work in collaboration with other service providers to advocate for funding and for changes in policies and programs to reduce their vulnerability and put them on a path to stability. 

With your help, since the beginning of January through December 15th, MUM has had the following impact: 

• Over 4,000 people in some of the most densely populated and underserved communities in Montgomery County received help through our programs, connections to community resources, and referrals to achieve more stability. 
• Over 140,000 pounds of fresh produce, lean proteins and non-perishable food were provided to over 3,000 people at our office and community-based food pantries, more than 50% of which was fresh fruits and vegetables.
• 89 households were able to keep their utilities on, 10 households had their utilities restored after disconnections, 55 households avoided eviction and homelessness, and 6 households received much-needed prescriptions through our emergency financial assistance programs. 
• 45 households benefited from MUM’s Food As Medicine programs, which combined healthy food with nutrition and health education to help diabetic participants and their families not only to reduce food insecurity but also to positively impact their health for the long-term.

In 2025 MUM expanded its partnerships with school and community-based food distributions at different locations in our community to reach more people in need. In June, we started providing fresh produce and healthy non-perishable food to 25 families weekly through our Food As Medicine Program with the Wheaton High School School-based Health and Wellness Center. We continued our partnership with Proyecto Salud Clinic in another Food As Medicine Program with 20 participants. Since September we have been working with Albert Einstein High School to distribute fresh produce and non-perishable food monthly and to support their Titan Pantry throughout the month, serving up to 100 families. In November, we began a partnership with St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church to support their growing monthly “Nurturing Our Neighbors” food distribution, which serves over 140 households.

As the need and demand for services continues to increase and federal government funding for many essential programs is cut, it has added pressure on local non-profits like MUM to help address the significant needs in our community. While we have added more appointment slots to our office food pantry and expanded community partnerships, there is far more demand than we can meet with our current resources.

Will you help MUM support a family’s basic needs right now? It costs over $100 to feed a single household each month and we provide up to $1,000 in emergency financial assistance to eligible households once a year to prevent evictions and keep utilities connected. Most people have arrears that are much larger than this, so MUM works with other agencies to pool the funds necessary to stop evictions and keep utilities on. Currently, with high demand and limited funds, we are only able to help people who have a utility shut-off notice, a court summons, court judgement, or an eviction notice. With more funds, we could help people before they are taken to court by their landlords or are notified that their utilities will be shut off if they don’t pay within the month. 

MUM was grateful to welcome a Master’s in Social Work Intern in September to help us manage the increase in demand for services and case work. This has enabled us to spend more time with neighbors seeking food and financial assistance to understand their situations and to connect them to other resources. Many neighbors owe more than the $1,000 limit that MUM can provide, so we spend a lot of time working with other organizations to secure the funds needed to stop evictions and to keep utilities on, and to find other resources to address our clients’ often complex needs. This type of case work is time consuming and requires kindness, patience, resourcefulness, and hard work. We cannot hire more staff or manage more volunteers to meet our neighbors’ needs without additional funds. 

We have set a goal to raise $50,000 by the end of the year – can you help us achieve it? If you have already given or are a recurring donor, we truly thank you! If you are able, please consider giving more or increasing your monthly donation to help us meet the growing needs in our community. If your employer has a matching donation program, please let us know, as that is a great way to double your gift! MUM is also participating in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC # 43740), so if you are a federal employee or retiree, you can also give to us that way. 

Please give online, or mail a check to P.O. Box 1924, Silver Spring, MD 20915-1901. All gifts to MUM are tax-deductible. Thank you! 

Lastly, MUM could not provide as much support to our neighbors as we do without our wonderful volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, please email our office at office@mumhelp.org or send us a message.

Thank you in advance for caring about and providing support to our neighbors who are struggling. We couldn’t do our work without your amazing support! 

With gratitude,
Dayna Brown
Executive Director