Our Story
In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, Grace Rivera-Oven and her son, Marko Rivera-Oven, recognized a pressing need for assistance in Upper Montgomery County. They started collecting donations from their garage, which quickly grew into a larger initiative. Partnering with the BlackRock Center for the Arts, the Upcounty Consolidation Hub was born, serving as a headquarters for community support.
With the generous backing of the David and Mikel Blair Foundation, Grace, Marko, and a dedicated team of volunteers distributed 300 Easter baskets to children in the Middlebrook Mobile Home Park in Germantown, Maryland. Initial partnerships with the Healthcare Initiative Foundation and Nourish Now enabled the Hub to serve 23 families with food boxes delivered directly to their homes, including those without transportation or under quarantine.
As demand surged, the Hub adapted by implementing drive-thru distributions at centralized locations, allowing individuals to pick up essential items without the need for documentation. This inclusive approach has made the Upcounty Hub a model for similar initiatives, replicated seven times throughout Montgomery County.
Through collaboration with Care For Your Health, Inc., the Hub provided COVID testing and vaccination clinics in vulnerable communities, along with essential COVID kits containing thermometers, toilet paper, and plastic dinnerware. The Upcounty Hub also plays a pivotal role in the Latino Health Initiative's program, Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar, which focuses on educating and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the Latino community.
By the summer of 2020, the Hub expanded its operations to include weekly drive-thru distributions, which eventually grew to three times a week. In March 2021, the Hub distributed 1,300 Easter baskets and organized special distributions for Thanksgiving and Christmas, ensuring families received turkeys and holiday food boxes. In October 2021, the Hub celebrated its move to the Upcounty Regional Services Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by community leaders.
Collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Montgomery County Food Council, and the Food Security Task Force has been crucial in analyzing data and securing funding. The Hub has submitted reports to assess needs by zip code and family size, tracking areas hardest hit by the pandemic.
From its inception as a program under the BlackRock Center for the Arts to becoming a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Upcounty Hub has received numerous accolades for its efforts to combat food insecurity. Currently, the Hub feeds approximately 1,300 families each week, distributing over 30,000 pounds of food and essentials through various services, including drive-thru distributions, home deliveries, and emergency assistance.