About a month ago, Dawn Dumas, social services manager for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington's western regional office, was getting information from a mother while her three children were playing in the other room. The woman was facing eviction and was seeking emergency assistance.

While talking to the woman, Dumas said her stomach was rumbling so loud that Dumas finally had to ask if she was hungry.

The mother said she had been eating only rice so that she could give her children a mixture of rice and chili.

"That's when I decided everybody was going to leave here with a bag of food and a card with Loudoun Interfaith's [the county's only food pantry] number," Dumas said of the visitors to the Leesburg office. "There is a lot of that out there. We see it daily."

In an effort to help the homeless and working poor who may have to forgo a meal in order pay for another pressing need, Catholic Charities has partnered with the Loudoun County drop-in center to provide a brown-bag lunch twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. The charity provides 30 lunches, which includes a sandwich, fruit cup, cookie and eating utensil, each week.

Since beginning the program in July, Catholic Charities has seen a steady increase of people coming by the shelter to get a meal. However, Catholic Charities does not track how many people are using their brown-bag lunch program.

"I do know it is increasing," Marty Maykrantz, food program coordinator for the charity group, said. "When we first started there would be five bags gone by the end of the day. Now, we see families coming in."



THE PROGRAM, Maykrantz said, got off to a slow start because the volunteers had to build relationships with the drop-in center clients.

She said the people who use the center were timid and reluctant at first, until they got a chance to know the volunteers on a personal level and vice versa.

"They are extremely friendly. We know their names. We know their stories," Dumas said. "At this point, it is exactly what we wanted."

Maykrantz came up with the lunch program and sought out help getting it off the ground. She secured gift cards from Harris Teeter and Giant for supplies and Loudoun Interfaith Relief initially provided the bread for the sandwiches. The program also received a more than $100 donation from a private donor that helped supplement the program. Now, Catholic Charities receives enough donations to support the program without seeking help from Loudoun Interfaith Relief.

"This was a trial for us. We wanted to see if there was a need or just a perceived one. What was that need and what could be done?" Maykrantz said. "We found out, that while they are appreciative, they don't like peanut butter and jelly. We quickly realized we needed variety."

Dumas and Maykrantz said they would like to expand the program to a daily food service and possibly add hot foods for the winter months. However, Dumas said, it is too early in the process and they have not spoken to county officials about the possibilities of expanding the program.



ONE OF THE perceptions Catholic Charities has faced is the belief that poverty isn't a problem in Loudoun County. Maykrantz said at one time she considered relocating to Mississippi to help the communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A mentor there told her if she wanted to do charity work to start at home.

"There is a misconception that there is no poor because Loudoun County is one of the riches counties. She said open your eyes and you'll find it," Maykrantz said of her mentor's advice. "I opened my eyes. I see them all the time. They are families sleeping under bridges. That lady walking down Route 7 with a backpack and a couple bags is probably homeless. The man sitting on the curb in front of the grocery store is probably hungry."

"We're pleased to work with local groups and the Loudoun county staff at the drop-in center to provide this service," Stephen Luteran, executive director of Catholic Charities, said in a press release. "We've learned that a number of the individuals who pick up the lunches are the working poor. They have jobs like stocking shelves at night in stores in the area. They are struggling to make ends meet one day at a time."

Dumas said the other thing they have learned is that county residents are generous. Catholic Charities has regularly received food donations from churches to support its programs, especially St. Francis de Sales in Purcellville and St. John's in Leesburg, Dumas said. Catholic Charities has also reached out to other local charitable organizations, such as Good Shepherd Alliance, LINK and Loudoun Interfaith Relief, not only for advice, but also to see how they can all work together.

"The community here in Loudoun, I've never seen anything like it," Dumas said. "This community will do anything. It is a community that is helping."