Displaced D.C. food bank receives aid offers

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By Jordan Buie THE WASHINGTON TIMES

A nonprofit food bank in danger of closing received offers of support Wednesday after the organization was displaced from its Northeast Washington headquarters.

Noah's Ark Food Bank, which offers food and clothing to needy people and charitable organizations, was forced to move from Christ Apostolic Church on Monday after organizers were ejected because they did not have a license to operate out of a warehouse the church had let them occupy for six years.

Founder Leotha Woodson said former D.C. Council member H.R. Crawford offered to help and is looking for work space for the organization, which serves about 30,000 packages of bread each week to 300 charitable organizations and more than 150 people.

He also received an offer to use an apartment room, but it had nowhere near as much space as what the food bank needs.

"We need at least 10,000 square feet for the bread, minimum," Mr. Woodson said. "But to house the rest of our food and clothing we really need about 30,000 square feet."

Mr. Woodson also said a spokeswoman for council member Harry Thomas Jr. said there was a space at 600 W St. in Northeast, but Mr. Woodson said that building was also too small.

Mr. Woodson said regular patrons of the food bank were not pleased with the city's lack of support for a group that has helped the city for so long.

Anita Webster, a volunteer for the organization, said a spokeswoman from the mayor's office called them on Wednesday, asking them to stop having people call the office. She said the phone's speaker was turned on at the time of the call and that people in the lines for bread overhead the conversation and became outraged.

"When the people heard them ask us to stop having people call, they screamed back, 'He is our mayor,' " Miss Webster said. "They screamed, 'He doesn't care about poor people.' "

Mafara Hobson, a spokeswoman for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, said the calls were placed to the mayor's scheduling office. She said that when the calls were received, the scheduling officer informed them that the number they were supposed to call was the mayor's office of community relations and services. She said no calls were rejected.

Mr. Woodson said many people visited on Wednesday and asked what they could do to help. He said some of them wanted to protest the lack of city assistanceand that somesuggested taking the trucks down to city hall, but he decided not to.

"The people are startled and in great disbelief that the city, the capital of the free world, does not care anything about the least among us," Mr. Woodson said. "For 22 years, Noah's Ark Food Bank has been there and helped those on fixed incomes - now that we need help, those that have will not come to the rescue."

Food bank organizers said they will fill their truck with bread again on Wednesday evening, but they don't know how much longer they will be able to distribute.

"What do we need to do is to get the help we need because a lot of people are hungry," Mr. Woodson said. "They can't believe the city won't help them."