Local Girl Scouts and 4-H members smile with food donations in hand on Wednesday evening inside the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church. From left, Autumn Kerr, Serafina Buxton, Grace Mendez, Natalie Gooch, Claire Mendez, Evelynn Kurtz, Celeste Gooch and Isla Henderson.
Local Girl Scouts and 4-H members smile with food donations in hand on Wednesday evening inside the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church. From left, Autumn Kerr, Serafina Buxton, Grace Mendez, Natalie Gooch, Claire Mendez, Evelynn Kurtz, Celeste Gooch and Isla Henderson.
KONNER METZ/STAR DEMOCRAT
Isla Henderson, right, and Natalie Gooch, left, carry in food donations to the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church food pantry on Wednesday.
KONNER METZ/STAR DEMOCRAT
The 24/7 food pantry inside the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church is most in need of items like cereal, peanut butter and breakfast meats.
KONNER METZ/STAR DEMOCRAT
Serafina Buxton carries canned items inside the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church during a drop-off run on Wednesday.
KONNER METZ/STAR DEMOCRAT
Claire Mendez, right, and Natalie Gooch carry donated food items into the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church on Wednesday.
KONNER METZ/STAR DEMOCRAT
From left, church member Renee Kurtz, Serafina Buxton, Isla Henderson, Natalie Gooch, Grace Mendez, Claire Mendez, Autumn Kerr and Evelynn Kurtz.
ROYAL OAK — For the third year in a row, 9-year-old Isla Henderson is leading a food drive with family and friends at the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church. And this time, she’s doubled her goal in hopes of serving more families in need this holiday season.
Isla — a member of St. Â鶹´«Ã½ Girl Scout Troop 799 and the 4-H Saddle, Paws and STEAM and Chapel District — was joined by fellow members of the service groups on Wednesday evening inside the church.
Parents and church leaders helped the eight girls restock the 24/7 food pantry with non-perishable items.
Isla and her mom, Christine Weber, have held the food drive for three years now. They collected over 6,000 items in both 2023 and 2024, eclipsing their respective goals of 4,000 and 5,000.
This year, Isla’s goal doubled to 10,000. She and her mom hope extra assistance from the community can help them reach their ambitious goal.
“My mom started the idea,†Isla said. “And then I got interested in it because I like helping people.
She added, “The food drive is really fun.â€
Drop-off is always welcome at the Royal Oak Community United Methodist Church as well as locations such as Flying Cloud Booksellers in Easton, DiMillo’s on the Chesapeake East in Oxford and the St. Â鶹´«Ã½ Community Center. This year, the food drive has an for people to donate to.
Renee Kurtz, a member of the church, has taken on social media responsibilities for the food drive, posting on TikTok and other sites. She said with the expanded reach and the wishlist, they’ve started to garner food donations from across the country.
The Royal Oak church, located on Bellevue Road, is an easy five-minute detour for those driving from St. Â鶹´«Ã½ to Easton or vice versa. Its food pantry is open 24/7, a feature church members say drives lots of interest from community members in need.
“We feel like you’re hungry every night, not just Tuesday and Wednesday,†food pantry coordinator Tonya Hammon said.
She noted that the pantry went through food items quickly in November as many Maryland residents on SNAP benefits worried if their federal government food assistance would come in during the recent shutdown.
“I think people were just panicked,†Hammon said.
While the immediate SNAP concerns have largely dissolved, community need remains. Hammon, Weber and Kurtz said some of the most-needed food donations include breakfast proteins, syrup, cereal, shelf-stable milk, peanut butter and kids snacks.
And the food pantry has no barriers, meaning anyone can drive up to the church (6968 Bellevue Rd, Royal Oak, MD 21662) and follow the food pantry signage to pick up what they need.
“Nobody’s here. There’s no judgment,†Hammon said. “We get a lot of people.â€
Featured Local Savings
Your Reaction
Reactions
You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login.
You must be logged in to rate. Click any rating to login.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.