Why Advocate
As inflation and the rising costs of food, housing, and utilities continue to impact everyday Marylanders, it’s no wonder that making three healthy meals a day is beyond the reach of so many families. And according to our Maryland Hunger Map, approximately two million Marylanders are at risk of food insecurity, which means one in three people may be forced to choose between putting food on the table or paying other bills.
At the Maryland Food Bank, we recognize that food alone will not solve hunger. We know that we must address the underlying root cause issues that stem from a lack of economic stability.
And if we are not doing the work in the trenches to address the very systems, policies, and practices that have trapped far too many Marylanders in generational cycles of poverty and food insecurity, we will never bring about meaningful change.
2024 Legislative Agenda
The Maryland Food Bank is proud to present our 2024 Legislative Agenda for consideration before the Maryland General Assembly.
We developed the Agenda based on conversations with colleagues in the anti-hunger and anti-poverty spaces, neighbors with lived experience of hunger, data and analysis of our work, and 45 years of expertise.
Previous Year's Agenda
Support for Advocacy
82%
of Marylanders want the state to invest more in root cause solutions*
3 Out of 4
Marylanders want more state funding to address hunger*
8 in 10
Marylanders think people regularly go to bed hungry due to lack of resources*
*According to responses from our 2021 Public Perception Survey
Help End Hunger in Maryland Today
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Advocacy In Action
Anti-poverty efforts that address the root causes of hunger, including unstable housing, lack of transportation options, and inadequate health care, must be a focus of ending food insecurity in Maryland.
We regularly meet with local, state, and federal policymakers, seeking support and partnership to help end hunger for more Marylanders. We share current data about food insecurity, while members of the MFB Speakers Bureau relate their personal stories of hunger with the people that have the power to bring about change.
For example, our own research shows that letting the letting the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit shrink or expire will increase financial instability and food insecurity among Maryland families. And we know that providing no-cost meals in schools will help the 1 in 5 children who are not eating enough because their family is under-resourced.
Find out more about how we’re engaging the Maryland General Assembly in conversations about how public benefits, supporting the food assistance safety net, stabilizing Maryland’s food system, strengthening economic stability, and eliminating barriers to food security lift up our entire state. Want to know more about the issues we advocated for last year? Check out our 2022 Legislative Agenda.
MFB Speakers Bureau
Find out how Speakers combine our food-insecurity data analysis with their own personal stories of hunger to powerfully advocate for the issues they are passionate about.
Contact Your Officials
Your voice is powerful!
It is the job of elected officials in Maryland to represent the interests of people living in their communities, and make decisions on policies that impact our way of life.
Make sure that our elected officials know that you care deeply about food insecurity and the negative impact it has on all of us.
SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and government programs that provide meals to children both when they’re in and out of school, are crucial for helping ease hunger in the state. Marylanders need adequate and sustainable food assistance benefits like SNAP, which can ease some of the tough choices households have to make. SNAP also strengthens local communities — every $1 a household receives in SNAP benefits generates about $1.70 in economic activity!
We’re also leveraging our relationships with other agencies to provide social support (like utility assistance, childcare, health care, housing, and legal services) to address root causes.
Cultivating Relationships
Government officials are not the only ones with the ability to effect change. Maryland has a rich agricultural history, and as the Maryland Food Bank acts as the anchor to the majority of food assistance activity throughout the state, the stability of the food assistance safety net in Maryland is therefore central to our advocacy work.
This includes supporting the farmers in our Farm to Food Bank Program, who provide fresh produce to more than 330 Network Partners statewide that distribute healthy food directly to food-insecure Marylanders. Ensuring that a strong food system can operate efficiently and with the resources it needs is a top priority for the food bank.
Workforce Development
Ensuring that all Marylanders have consistent access to nutritious food is only part of our strategic efforts to improve the lives of Marylanders. True change means opening more pathways out of hunger and helping our neighbors in need achieve economic stability. One way we are addressing this is through FoodWorks, our culinary workforce development program that provides the necessary tools and supports to help Marylanders enter and stay employed in positions that pay a living wage.
For more than ten years, FoodWorks in Baltimore County has produced graduates that are thriving in the hospitality industry. We’ve recently expanded FoodWorks statewide, adding locations in Baltimore City and on the Eastern Shore.
As long as there is hunger in Maryland, we will advocate on behalf of Marylanders experiencing it.
Thank you Maryland Food Bank for making sure people in Baltimore County who are food insecure, many for the first time, have meals to provide for their families.
John Olszewski, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive (May 15, 2020)
Latest Advocacy News
Culturally Inclusive Crops Bring Nutrition, Familiarity to Neighbors in Need
Our Culturally Inclusive Crop Program provides neighbors in need with familiar, culturally relevant foods, that not only ease the burden of acquiring fresh produce (which can be prohibitively costly, if it is available at all), but also encourages healthier eating choices.
Hunger Action Month 2023: Neighbors Still Need You
September marks Hunger Action Month, an opportunity be a part of the nationwide movement to take a stand against hunger and help our neighbors in need. With more food-insecure Marylanders than ever before due to COVID-19, we need you to act.
Meet the MFB Family: The Community Impact Team
Learn more about our Community Impact Team (CIT)—a group of food bank employees dedicated solely to offering solutions to the root causes of hunger that continue to plague our state.
