Maryland Food Bank Has Given Out 35M Meals Since March. They Need Your Help To Keep It Going
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- One in four Marylanders are food insecure this holiday season.
WJZ visited the Maryland Food Bank where they are giving thousands of families a meal this Thanksgiving.
"We're just trying to do everything we can to make sure there's enough food," Joanna Warner, Director of Communications for the Maryland Food Bank, said.
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They are packing grab and go meals and backup boxes.
"These are 30-pound boxes of shelf-stable items that are easy to load into the trunk of a car and help fulfill the needs of a family of four for about a week," Warner said.
They know this holiday season is going to be difficult for more Maryland families than ever before amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"These are regular people, these are your neighbors, next door individuals who unfortunately lost their job as a result of the global pandemic and many of them are seeking out food assistance for the very first time," Warner said.
Since March, the Maryland Food Bank has distributed over 35 million meals in the state.
"That's roughly 42 million pounds of food," Warner said.
To continue at this rate, the Maryland Food Bank is asking for volunteers and financial contributions.
"The dollar you would otherwise spend at the store we can actually convert that and stretch that a lot further," Warner said.
They said the need and hunger will still be there even after the holidays.
"We don't see this spike in demand decreasing anytime soon. We suspect this need for food assistance is going to continue into 2021. So any support from the public is very much appreciated right now," Warner said.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
