More than 1,400 vehicles drove through its parking lot at Wyaconda Road in North Bethesda on Saturday and Sunday, with trunks and backseats being filled with bags and boxes of food.
Dave Silbert, the co-founder and executive director of So What Else told WTOP that the need is greater this year, as he watched drivers in Mercedes and BMWs line up alongside older model pickup trucks waiting for their turn.
“People don’t get paid for four to six weeks, and all of a sudden, they’re at a food bank. It just shows you where there’s not much margin for error in our economy,” Silbert said, speaking of the recently ended government shutdown.
The two-day giveaway was planned during the shutdown and the decision was made to continue with it, even after the government reopened.
Silbert and Bob Schless started So What Else in 2009, following a trip to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
“Our mission for 10 years, from 2009 to 2019 was serve kids, serve the community through volunteer projects and volunteerism — and then get the kids we serve to pay it forward,” Silbert said.
Like many nonprofit groups, the organization shifted focus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mission No. 1 is emergency resources and food, Silbert said. “We should do 20 million pounds of food this year, which would make us as the largest food bank in Montgomery County, and maybe second to Capital Area Food Bank in the region.”
The second mission remains youth development and out-of-school programming, including after-school programs and summer camps for 2,900 students.
“The third is civic engagement, volunteerism,” he said. “Giving people a place to find themselves and find their passion for service.”
Giving back and being of service is more than a catch phrase for Silbert, it’s a mantra. “I went to four drug rehabs. You know what they say in AA, and in those communities: ‘service is a lifesaver.'”
“So, when you serve other people, you forget about your own problems for a minute, and you just lose yourself in the service of others.”
Asked what advice he would have given himself in rehab, Silbert told WTOP: “Stay alive. What if it’s important for me to stay alive for other people? I still tell myself that.”
Silbert said he dreams big and when he imagines the future of So What Else, he thinks of the Boys and Girls Club and the Red Cross.
“When Clara Barton started the Red Cross, she didn’t know how big that would become,” Silbert said, with a sly smile.
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