Food Pantries

Giant extends drive to help stock food pantries Hoping to meet increasing demands at area food banks, Giant Food Inc. is extending its annual "Good Neighbor Food and Funds" campaign through the end of this month. The campaign was to end Dec. 31, but will run until Jan. 31 to benefit food pantries and soup kitchens, some of which reported in a recent survey that they are serving more families than ever. People can participate by donating nonperishable food or cash at participating Giant or Super G stores.

The man who police say shot and critically wounded a co-rector and killed another worker at an Ellicott City church last week was angry about being told to limit his visits to the food pantry, church leaders said in a statement on Saturday. The shootings of the two women have plunged the congregation of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, founded in Howard County in 1842, into mourning. The church has announced a private service for Sunday at 10 a.m. The statement from the church says a custodian found the victims in an office.

Suburban communities are driving the increased demand at soup kitchens and food pantries in the Baltimore metropolitan area, according to a study released yesterday by the Maryland Food Committee.It was the fourth year in the row for the study -- and the fourth consecutive year that demand went up. Overall, more than 92,000 people sought hot meals or bags of groceries last month, up from almost 79,000 in October 1992. Soup kitchens, which serve hot meals on the premises, reported a 16 percent increase, while pantries, which provide nonperishable items to go, saw a 20 percent jump.

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.

Use of food pantries and homeless shelters has increased sharply around Maryland in the past year despite the state's prosperity, according to an anti-poverty group's survey.Early results of the survey, conducted by the Center for Poverty Solutions in Baltimore, show that Maryland food pantry patrons took home 59 percent more groceries this year than last and that the number of children seeking shelter went up by nearly a quarter.Though both numbers have risen in the annual survey over the past five years, the increases this year are much greater, said Rob Hess, president of the center.

Maryland's food pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens experienced a 23 percent increase in visits from families with children in the past year according to a survey to be released today by the Center for Poverty Solutions.The study, based on 1998 information mailed in by the staffs of 191 emergency providers throughout the state, also found that 26 percent more senior citizens used food pantries for donations.It concludes that rates of unemployment combined with fewer people receiving public assistance has had a "serious impact" upon food pantry and soup kitchen use."

Yvonne Brown has come so far -- from sunken-cheeked addict to teacher's assistant, from drawing government checks to making her own money and her own way.Yet there she was, leaning over the counter of the food pantry at the Bethel Outreach Center in West Baltimore this week, waiting as emergency services director Georgia Crawford filled plastic bags with frozen salmon and peanut butter, dried milk and canned corn, spaghetti and bread."

T he economic downturn that has caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, homes and sense of financial well-being has also produced a drastic increase in the number of people who go to bed hungry at night. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week that nearly 50 million Americans - including almost a quarter of the nation's children - lacked consistent access to enough to eat in 2008. That was the highest figure recorded since the department began keeping such statistics in 1995.

Bill Ewing was unemployed and living in his Volkswagen van on April Fools' Day 1979 when his aunt dragged him to a celebration marking the start of a new charity, the Maryland Food Bank. Ewing, who had recently left his job as a teacher, was looking for something to do. The first food banks had just started popping up around the country, and the concept behind them - bringing food from big producers to small food pantries - intrigued him. He decided to volunteer for a few weeks. Now, Ewing is preparing to step down as executive director of the nonprofit organization.

Demand at soup kitchens and food pantries in Central Maryland grew for a third consecutive year, forcing some facilities to turn hungry people away, according to a survey released yesterday by the Maryland Food Committee.It was the first time in the three years of the survey that soup kitchens and food pantries reported turning people away."This year, the picture is really much more somber and sobering," said Linda Eisenberg of the Maryland Food Committee in a news conference at SS. Stephen and James Lutheran Church, one of several soup kitchens in South Baltimore.

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.

Two Laurel dentists are offering a significant discount on dental services in tandem with helping their community food pantry. Dr. Maurice Miles and Dr. Daniel Melnick are assisting people in the community who have lost their dental coverage due to job loss by offering dental services at a fraction of their normal rate. For $75 patients receive oral examinations, x-rays and dental cleanings, with all proceeds going to Elizabeth House. The discount remains in effect until Nov. 30. http://www.dentistlaurelmd.com/index.php/ctegory/community .

A lush garden erupting with organic vegetables, food displays that rival an upscale grocer's and sleek weatherization projects that slash energy bills — these may not seem like the typical projects of an agency that aids the poor. Yet these concepts are the reason the Community Action Council was honored by the county Tuesday with the first human-rights award it had ever given to an organization. CAC, a longtime county nonprofit, aims to blend its assistance to low-income residents with top-flight customer service, organizers say. This approach was launched when Bita Dayhoff took the helm in October 2009, and she is credited with making sure this philosophy has expanded and been imparted to all employees.

Loch Raven Technical Academy, in partnership with the Maryland Food Bank, will be distributing food at the LRTA Food Pantry inside the school, 8101 LaSalle Road, on Saturday, Nov. 19, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The program is a new outreach effort at the school. Families in need in the community are invited to come and receive food items. The food bank provides the food for the pantry only on designated dates. The next date after Nov. 19 will be in December. Loch Raven program designed to map a path for students Students in gifted and talented courses in Grades seven, eight and nine and their parents are invited to Loch Raven High School, 1212 Cowpens Avenue in Towson, on Nov. 2, at 6:45 p.m., for a presentation on the choices and challenges as they prepare for their high school and postsecondary education.

Every year the Finneran family of Eldersburg invites residents to view their haunted house display, at 6208 Longleaf Pine Road, Eldersburg, and ask that visitors bring canned goods to donate to Carroll County Food Sunday. It's the family's idea of helping the food bank while providing a frightfully good time for friends and neighbors. The display will be open for a special "graveyard walking tour" on Monday, Oct. 31, 6 to 9 p.m.

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.

The U.S. Postal Service Harvest for the Hungry food drive in Maryland has collected more than 100,000 pounds of food in this year's campaign that ended March 24, double its 50,000-pound goal.Bill Ewing, executive director of the Maryland Food Bank, said yesterday that the annual drive, in which postal workers pick up goods from their mail customers, has collected more than $30 million worth of food since it began 12 years ago.Food banks will distribute the goods to soup kitchens, food pantries and emergency shelters.

Anne Arundel County has won a $179,145 federal grant, a threefold increase over last year, to help the homeless and hungry through the winter.Homeless shelters and food pantries can apply for part of the grant from the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter National Program.The county received nearly three times the assistance this year for emergency shelters, meals, help with utility bills and eviction prevention.Last year, the county helped 5,201 poor people with a $59,401 grant from FEMA, said Marjorie Bennett, director of emergency programs for the county Department of Social Services.

Auto flea market The Chesapeake Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America sponsors the 38th annual Antique Auto Parts Flea Market from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. — rain or shine — at the Howard County Fairgrounds, 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship. Event features indoor, outdoor and undercover vendor sites. Free admission and parking. Information: 443-744-6338 or aaca.org/chesapeake. Food drive On Saturday, March 5, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts will go door-to-door to collect donations of nonperishable food items and deliver them to food pantries in the county.

Larry Evans nods in agreement when he hears that many of his fellow Marylanders are struggling to put food on the table. Evans, out of work since July, says he isn't surprised the numbers have increased - and that he's not the only one to sometimes face an empty plate. "Food-wise, it's been tough," Evans said. "My sister has been a big help, but after a while, you can only go so far with that." Evans, 52, was eating lunch at Bel Air United Methodist Church courtesy of Manna House, which has provided a free meal and a bag of groceries to patrons each Wednesday for the past 20 years.