Food Drive

Weichert Realtors, 9339 Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City, is an official drop-off location for donations to the Maryland Food Bank through Thursday. For more information or a pickup, call 410-465-8300.

WESTMINSTER - This weekend, Boy Scouts from area troops have been distributing food collection bags to homes as part of the national Scouting for Food drive. Residents are asked to fill the bags with non-perishable food items and leave the filled bags outside their doors for the Scouts to collect on Saturday, April 21. The food will be used to replenish the empty shelves of local food pantries and feeding programs. Last year, the effort by more than 10,000 individuals throughout the Scouts' Baltimore Area Council provided more than 500,000 pounds of food to pantries throughout central Maryland.

Towson area businesses this week launched a two-week food drive to restock the shelves at the food pantry at the Assistance Center of Towson Churches following a slow summer of donations and a period of high need. "This time of year is always difficult to keep on top of demand," said Cathy Burgess, director of the assistance center. "High unemployment and lean budgets have so many people in the Towson area struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. " Several Towson businesses, including local law firms, building owners, government and financial services firms are collecting nonperishable food through Sept.

Harford County government employees collected more than eight tons of food to help less fortunate residents of the county and the region in conjunction with the annual Harvest for the Hungry campaign. The food collected last week was delivered to the parking lot of the county office building at 220 S. Main St. in Bel Air Friday morning where Harford County Executive David Craig and other county officials and the staff of the Harford Community Action Agency were by joined by Harvest for the Hungry founder and Harford resident Larry Adam.

As they have done for nearly 30 years, Baltimore-area Boy Scouts will help the homeless and hungry with a food drive aimed at filling the shelves at food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. Hundreds of uniformed Scouts will fan out in their neighborhoods next weekend, distributing collection bags and asking residents to fill them with nonperishable foods throughout the following week. Each bag will come with a postcard describing the most appropriate types of food to donate. All items are welcome, but organizers note a widespread need for hearty soup, stew or chili as well as canned tuna, chicken, salmon or luncheon meat, such as Spam.

The fifth annual Bags of Plenty food drive and fund-raiser conducted by the Maryland Food Committee has received $119,000 and more than 406,000 pounds of food. The campaign officially ends today, but monetary donations will be accepted through Dec. 31.More than 30,000 people have contributed to Bags of Plenty so far this year. Although the contributions of food fell short of the drive's goals, the money collected is to be used to buy additional food for the state's emergency pantries.

Bags of Plenty, the state's largest canned food drive, will try to prove this year that less is more.The eighth annual campaign, which began yesterday, will run for only one week, winding up the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Organizers hope the shorter timetable, down from three weeks in previous years, will give the campaign a sense of urgency."In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, our message tended to blend in with other Thanksgiving and Christmas activities," said Craig Rocklin, development director of the Maryland Food Committee, which runs Bags of Plenty as a joint project with the Maryland Food Bank.

The U.S. Postal Service has extended its annual Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive through Wednesday.Letter carriers around the state will pick up canned and perishable food left at residential mailboxes for a drive to benefit food pantries throughout Maryland. The donations will be distributed by the Maryland Food Bank.Bill Ewing, executive director of the food bank, said local food banks rely increasingly on public donations such as those collected during the drive because donations from the food industry no longer are sufficient.

THE NICE thing about our recent weather is that it permits us to experience such variety. Why go on vacation to Florida for the tan and Colorado for the skiing when we can experience balmy breezes on Monday and snow on Thursday - and never have to visit an airport? In this changeable time on the cusp of spring, our neighborhood has seen a flurry of activities and accomplishments. Fourth-graders Marketa Kletetschkova, Sean Hoe and Jon Mills have started a food drive at Laurel Woods Elementary School to collect canned goods for FISH, a food pantry and referral service for the needy.

Post offices in Howard County are extending their annual food drive, hoping to bolster one of the lowest yields since the postal service began its effort to help the needy.As of early Friday, donations throughout Howard County for the statewide Harvest for the Hungry campaign -- which collects nonperishable food for county and state food banks -- reached about 9,500 pounds since the drive began March 17. That's only a third of what the county usually donates each year.The campaign was supposed to end yesterday, according to a statewide schedule.

Harford County Executive David R. Craig and Harford County Government are partnering with the Postal Service to support the Harvest for the Hungry campaign. The local campaign is coordinated through the Harford Community Action Agency. "The annual Harvest for the Hungry campaign is a great opportunity for county employees, their families and friends to help support members of our community," Craig said in a press release. "The Harford Community Action Agency and the Harvest for the Hungry campaign do an outstanding job gathering food to support those in our community who turn to us for help in time of need.

Calvert Hall College High School held its annual Thanksgiving food drive from Nov. 14 to Nov. 22. The theme of this year's drive was "A Place at the Table. " This year, students challenged each other in a friendly grade-level competition of who could collect the most food items for our community. Four transportable storage units, donated by ABF U-Pack Moving, were prominently placed in the school's plaza, and students filled units. After weighing the storage containers, the winning grade will be determined by the heaviest storage unit.

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.

Police in Anne Arundel County are hoping to make the holidays a bit brighter for the area's needy animals through a food drive and a photos with Santa program. With their annual "Give a Pet a Happy Holiday" program, county animal control are collecting new pet item donations which will help needy animals in the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County, The Lighthouse Shelter and others pets unlikely to get holiday presents -- or even a good meal -- this year.   Officials are accepting canned food items, pet toys, crates and carriers, bedding, leashes and collars, treats, dry food items, cat litter, bird toys and bird feed.

Towson area businesses this week launched a two-week food drive to restock the shelves at the food pantry at the Assistance Center of Towson Churches following a slow summer of donations and a period of high need. "This time of year is always difficult to keep on top of demand," said Cathy Burgess, director of the assistance center. "High unemployment and lean budgets have so many people in the Towson area struggling to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. " Several Towson businesses, including local law firms, building owners, government and financial services firms are collecting nonperishable food through Sept.

No doubt, you've driven past the building on Gorman Avenue, known as Elizabeth House, numerous times. Unless there were clients on the porch, or men and women lined up waiting to get in for the evening meal, you probably didn't give it a second look. Every Thursday morning, a determined group of volunteers shows up at this fairly nondescript building to do work that is vital and necessary. Under the guidance of Judi Kuntz and Snyder Pate, these men and women sort through donated food items, pack bags and distribute groceries to those in the area who, for a myriad of reasons, just don't have enough.

Workshops •The Edward Stewart Memorial Scholarship Fund presents a benefit dance workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 19-20 at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St. in Annapolis. Workshop is for dance students between the ages of 13 and 18.. Ballet and variation classes will be taught by Dima Malikov and Ninel Cherevko from M&C Dance. Modern classes will be taught by Jaime Lawton Vitollo. Classes in Pilates, jazz, anatomy, music and audition techniques are also available.

We live in a great community. The Fourth of July, civic activism, and Food for Tomorrow created an unbeatable team. During the Longfellow parade, volunteers pushed grocery carts, collecting food from parade-goers. Afterwards, those same volunteers collected food from shoppers at the Hickory Ridge Village Center. As a result of the community's generosity, over 1,100 pounds of food were donated in memory of Bob Russell to the Howard County Food Bank. Food for Tomorrow, a student-run project, will continue to be in the community.