Food Donations

Long & Foster Real Estate is holding a food drive to collect donations for Laurel Advocacy and Referral Services. Donations of non-perishable food can be left at the Burtonsville office, 3901 National Drive, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Dec. 16. LARS serves the greater Laurel area by assisting homeless and low-income individuals or families. For more information, contact Lenora Dernoga at 301-221-1700.

In its first 15 months, the United Way of Central Maryland's Access to Healthy Food Initiative distributed more than 3.4 million pounds of groceries to low-income individuals and families, the organization said. But because spring and summer are slow times for food donations, the UWCM is holding its first Families Living United Healthy Food Week campaign , which continues through Saturday. Businesses, schools and organizations are being encouraged to conduct their own drives.

Laurel Boys Scouts will collect grocery sacks of donated non-perishable food from front porches on Saturday, Nov. 12 in the yearly Scouting for Food effort. Cub Scouts distributed white, plastic grocery sacks to front doors in Laurel neighborhoods last week, and those sacks can be filled with donations and left on front porches for collection by 9 a.m. Saturday. Donations can be made in any grocery sack; mark the bag "Scouting for Food. " Do not include glass containers. Scouting for Food, in its 25th years, is orchestrated by the National Capital Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Capital Area Food Bank, WUSA-TV, Safeway and the Washington Examiner.

The Harford Community Action Agency and Harford County government are again spearheading the Harford County part of the annual Harvest for the Hungry Campaign that began Saturday and runs through Saturday, March 9. In its 27th year, the Harvest for the Hungry week-long food drive helps restock the shelves of local food pantries that have been depleted during the winter. The campaign is run in conjunction with the nonprofit Maryland Food Bank. The official kickoff for the regional campaign was held in Baltimore Friday, where Harvest for the Hungry founder Larry Adam, of Fallston, was joined by community leaders, sponsors and local government officials, including Harford County Executive David Craig and his wife, Melinda.

Howard County residents can contribute nonperishable food items to Maryland Food Bank's Hurricane Relief Program from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at three Howard County library branches: east Columbia, Ellicott City and Glenwood. The food bank is seeking donations of pop-top, ready-to-eat foods; granola bars and power bars; meal replacement beverages; diapers; personal hygiene items such as feminine products, toothpaste, toothbrushes and soap; paper products such as napkins, plates and tissues; canned tuna, chicken and salmon; canned fruits and vegetables; and water.

County residents can help restock the shelves at the Harford Food Bank by leaving nonperishable food near their mailboxes Saturday for pickup.Letter carriers will collect food donations from residents along their route as part of a one-day effort by the National Association of Letter Carriers to help reduce hunger nationwide."

Donations to the Maryland Food Bank from Baltimore City and Baltimore County were down 71 percent from last year on the first two days of the U.S. Postal Service's food drive, according to Larry Adam Jr., founder of the Harvest for the Hungry campaign.On Saturday and Monday, the drive in this area collected 19,865 pounds of food compared with 68,000 pounds a year ago.In the Salisbury area, donations were down from 16,000 pounds to 1,085 pounds.Other food banks, such as Howard County's, showed an even greater decline, from 8,200 pounds the first two days last year to 817 pounds this year.

They closed the doors early at Agape House, but not before the crowd spilled into the hallway and onto the steps below. Crouched on the floor and huddled in corners, toddlers and senior citizens alike waited for Thanksgiving baskets that others would not be so lucky to get. Two weeks ago, for the first time, the West Baltimore nonprofit organization began telling people who called for Thanksgiving meals that they would have to go elsewhere. At Agape House and around the state, a troublesome combination of soaring demand and slowing donations all year has depleted the stock of emergency food.

In its first 15 months, the United Way of Central Maryland's Access to Healthy Food Initiative distributed more than 3.4 million pounds of groceries to low-income individuals and families, the organization said. But because spring and summer are slow times for food donations, the UWCM is holding its first Families Living United Healthy Food Week campaign , which continues through Saturday. Businesses, schools and organizations are being encouraged to conduct their own drives.

After a week's extension, organizers of the first statewide Harvest for the Hungry drive announced recently that 413,000 pounds of food and personal care items have been collected. Postal employees collected donations from homes and post office collection sites from March 11 to 25, hoping to gather a pound for every Marylander living in poverty -- about 440,000 pounds. The drive fell short of that number, but did receive nearly 13,000 pounds of items such as soap, shampoo and deodorant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and its employees, in addition to the food donations.

Editor: A big thank you to the Perryville Fire Company for food donations for the food pantry and Hope Place, the soup kitchen of the Perryville United Methodist Church. Hope Place serves a hot meal every Saturday and your donations are very much appreciated. A special tanks to Thelma and Louise (aka Sue and Brenda) for all they do for the Perryville Community. Melvin Wilson , on behalf of Perryville United Methodist Church

Centro de Ayuda The organization provides a variety of social services to the Latino community in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, with support offices in Annapolis and Glen Burnie. Volunteers are needed for a variety of functions. Information: 410-295-3434 or centrodeayuda.org . Food and Resource Bank Volunteers with pickup trucks are needed to pick up food donations during the day and help with answering phones, copying and other office duties from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 410-923-4255 or email bruce@aafoodbank.org . Information: aafoodbank.orghttp://aafoodbank.org.

September is Hunger Action Month, and I'm committed to helping raise awareness about food insecurity in our state. I want to share some startling statistics: Hungry Marylanders miss nearly 127 million meals each year. More than 740,000 of our neighbors are food insecure. And 236,000 children in Maryland do not know where their next meal will come from. We can make a difference by supporting the Maryland Food Bank, our state's largest and oldest food bank. The Maryland Food Bank works with more than 600 network partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters, to get food into the hands of those who need it most.

The Ehrlich boys sure love their summer Slurpees. Even the 50-something Ehrlich kid is not averse to indulging on the way home from those hot summer football practices. (Mom does not share our male addiction but usually lets us slide in the interest of family unity.) That the Ehrlich Slurpee bonding experience takes place in Annapolis and not New York City is a good thing, as the Big Apple now deals with the latest assault on individual freedom from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The successor to the wildly successful Rudy Giuliani is a billionaire Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent.

The skies were clear and the air light on Sunday, June 3, for the first ever 5K run and 1-mile walk to benefit Assistance Center of Towson Churches. When the event kicked off on the grounds of Goucher College at 5 p.m., everyone from babies in strollers to dogs on leashes, casual walkers to runners in training hit the pavement to benefit ACTC and its outreach efforts to families in need. "We had a good turnout," said Suzanne Boellner, a ACTC board member. Some 250 people had registered to take part in the run, and Boellner estimated another 50 to 75 signed up at the start.

Are there no limits on government's power, no places where it cannot go? New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former (thankfully) Republican, has decided to limit food donations to city charities, including homeless shelters, because the government is unable to measure the nutritional value of the food. Who in city government believes that a homeless person with no access to money other than what he or she might panhandle cares about the nutritional content of food? If they are able to scrounge up a few bucks on the streets, does anyone seriously think they're headed to a grocery store to buy carrots and arugula?

Editor: A big thank you to the Perryville Fire Company for food donations for the food pantry and Hope Place, the soup kitchen of the Perryville United Methodist Church. Hope Place serves a hot meal every Saturday and your donations are very much appreciated. A special tanks to Thelma and Louise (aka Sue and Brenda) for all they do for the Perryville Community. Melvin Wilson , on behalf of Perryville United Methodist Church

The Harvest for the Hungry campaign, involving businesses throughout the Baltimore area, kicked off a campaign this week to collect non-perishable foods through the end of the year for Maryland's needy.Despite a poor response to this year's Bags of Plenty campaign, which collected less than half its goal of 650,000 pounds of food, Harvest for the Hungry organizers are optimistic that their network of business people will succeed in reaching its goal of $350,000 in food and money.Larry Adam, who oversees the campaign, said participants include the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, the Anne Arundel Board of Realtors and the Cecil County Board of Realtors.