People Flourish When Food Comes First
With expanded access to nutritious food and more pathways out of hunger, neighbors from Cumberland to Cambridge have the chance to thrive. Join The Fight
The food you help provide to Marylanders in need has an impact that reverberates throughout our state. It provides a foundation for children to learn, helps struggling working families get back on their feet, supports older adults, and allows neighbors to focus on more productive pursuits than finding food.
With your help, we can give more than food. We can give hope.
Who We Help
We could measure the Maryland Food Bank’s impact in numbers, such pounds of food or meals distributed annually, but the most accurate measure of our impact is on the lives we touch.
Maryland Food Bank helps:
- Hungry Children – proper nutrition is crucial for child development and academic success, improves confidence, and correlates with reduced risk of health issues, school dropouts, and incarceration.
- Working Families – food assistance helps families in Maryland, a state with one of the highest costs of living in the country, avoid having to choose between food and other key household expenses like health care or housing.
- Older Adults – malnourished older adults suffer an increased risk of a variety of health issues, including gum disease, asthma, diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and heart attack.
- Maryland’s Under-resourced Communities – food assistance resources distributed through programs such as SNAP program have been shown to nearly double their economic impact on the local community, and positively impact the quality of its health, safety, and education.
Hear Their Stories
The true face of hunger might not be what you expect. Find out what happens when we help our neighbors in need, in their own voices.
Research and Reports
Find our latest original reporting and data-driven tools aimed at helping stakeholders and the public better understand and address the complexity of food insecurity in Maryland.
It’s just really important to let them feel human, to let them know that they’re recognized…
Marge B.
Assistance Recipient & Volunteer
When I go to my refrigerator, and it’s not just empty, it makes me feel good. Living my life now, I wouldn’t pass it up for nothing.
Lamont B.
Recipient
I never realized we have so much hunger here.
Pat
Volunteer
Latest News
Childhood Nutrition Education: Investing Early Can Pay Healthy Dividends for a Lifetime
Learn why helping young Marylanders develop and maintain a positive relationship with healthy food is some of the most important work we do.
Partner Spotlight: Upward Thrive Academy
Offering food and wraparound services rooted in the needs and preferences of their neighbors, Upward Thrive Academy is exactly the kind of partner the Maryland Food Bank seeks to work with.
Studying Empathy: Wolfe Street Academy’s 5th Graders are Changemakers
At Wolfe Street Academy, 5th graders have the unique opportunity to learn about hunger, their community, and themselves by helping pack bags of nutritious food for their neighbors in need.
On Galentine’s Day, Celebrating Service and Love for Community
On February 12, the food bank held its second annual Galentine’s Day Event, a special volunteer shift specifically for women who love community and giving back.
