DMV Doers: First Black-operated food bank in nation serves 50K families

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Melanie Johnson is the founder and CEO of StoreHouse, a food bank based in Prince George’s County with another location in South Carolina.

Johnson said they are the first Black-operated food bank in the nation. She said it’s been a family affair.

“Our effort is self-funded right now,” she said. “The majority of our resources are store-bought by us directly, so we are looking for partners to work with.”

It all began with providing fresh food in the DMV in 2022. The food bank has distributed more than 2.5 million pounds of food to nearly 50,000 families.

A big part of their effort is mobile. They go to people, especially elderly and disabled veterans.

“We are able to get in and out to the community more quickly,” Johnson said. “The quality is protected, and people feel good about what they are receiving and they are healthier in the end.”

Johnson said they are very active in other community efforts, including school supply giveaways.

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