A Special Deal to Clip Hunger
by Barbara Ruben
Special to the Washington Post
Bundles of coupons line the bookshelves the the Rev. Kevin Newcomer and his wife Louise's home in Wheaton. Coupons for Cheerios crowd into coupons for Clorox, which tumble into Chef Boyardee territory. A dozen grocery bags overflow with coupons still waiting to be clipped.
For the Newcomers, the coupons are a weapon to fight hunger--and a tool to teach smart shopping.
For the last six years, the couple has collected at least 25,000 coupons a month, which they distribute to social service aagencies for low-income families and use to buy provisions for food banks. Eighteen Montgomery County middle and high schools help collect and sort coupons, along with local congregations and government offices, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Rockville.
The Newcomers, both former grocery store employees, have honed their coupon acumen over the years. They descend on the nearby Georgia Avenue Safeway or Leisure World Giant, searching out the half-price specials, rebates, trial sizes and other deals to squeeze the bill down to practically nothing. Last year, they say they bought $250,000 worth of groceries for $1000.
Their biggest coupon coup came when they actually made money by buying boxes of rice. The Newcomers swept into local grocery stores wielding dollar-off coupons for Success rice, which was on sale for 99 cents. When they got to the checkout, the cash register pumped out new coupons for $1.00 off anything in the store for every two boxes of rice. With a total of 500 boxes of rice, they netted $250.
"I think it's been successful because what we're doing is so simple. But there's also the element of caring about people other than yourself, people who are going through hard times," said Kevin Newcomer, 38, pastor of the First Christian Church of Empowerment, which meets in their home. "We're working with all faiths. Every religion talks about feeding the hungry. I haven't found anyone who doesn't want to participate."
Despite a booming stock market and low unemployment, local food pantries and soup kitchens are seeing an increase in clients--a change many attribute to welfare reform.
Food demand is up 15-20% over the last year and a half at the Manna Food Center in Rockville, according to Executive Director Tom Lawrey. Manna is one of the county's largest food centers, serving about 4700 clients a month.
"It's one of the things we sensed would happen as people leave welfare. It's been gradual, but steady." Lawrey said. Food from the Newcomers has been welcome, he added.
"They've shown us how, we could buy items of food without spending more than a few pennies," Lawrey said, "I'm amazed what the two of them are doing. They have that religious fervor and have created the channels to make this program work."
Through their nonprofit organization, Learn Shop, they have created a video to teach people better shopping habits. The video offers advice on buying in bulk, buying generic or store brands and matching coupons with sales to obtain items at a fraction of their original prices.
"The clock is really ticking people receiving federal assistance, " said Louise Newcomer, 45. "We like to teach people what they can do for themselves and in the process, I think they'll get more self esteem."
The state of Maryland has purchased copies of the half-hour video for its 41 social services and community action offices. These offices also will offer coupons and educational fliers, provided by Learn Shop.
"When I heard about the program, my eyes lit up, " said Carolyn Edmunds, coordinator of Project Retain, a program of the Maryland Department of Human Resources designed to help former welfare recipients stay on the job. "I'm a couponer myself and couldn't believe we hadn't thought of this before. It just makes so much sense."
Kevin Newcomer recently received a federal grant to present the Learn Shop program to a nation meeting of Women, infants, and Children (WIC) directors in May.
And Learn Shop is teaching a new generation of consumers.
Ava Mendelson, who teaches home economics at Rosa Parks Middle School in Olney, uses the Learn Shop program as a springboard for teaching consumer education to her seventh-graders. Many times, the end of the class is spent sorting coupons. Students also pour into her classroom at lunch and after school to help with the coupons, using the program to help fulfill their community service requirement.
"There are several benefits the students take with them. They are helping others, but they are also acquiring skills that they are going to need for a lifetime, " Mendelson said.
At Leisure World, a senior citizen community in Silver Spring, volunteers collect coupons from residents, and an interfaith group called the Cut Ups clips and sorts coupons. The activity provides a social outlet and allows residents to fight hunger, siad Judy Birch, outreach minister with the Inter Faith Chapel at Leisure World.
"One of the really nice things about all is that they're using teens at one end of the spectrum and seniors at the other," Birch said. "I like that idea, and I think a lot of the other volunteers do, too."
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