People Flourish When Food Comes First
We are touching the lives of hundreds of thousands of hungry Marylanders, positively impacting communities from Cumberland to Cambridge. Join The Fight
The food you help provide to Marylanders in need has an impact that reverberates throughout our state. Well-fed children learn more, struggling working families get back on their feet, seniors thrive, and individuals are able 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.
- Seniors – malnourished seniors 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 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.
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
Transitioning Kids Back to School
As children across the state return to some form of schooling this school year, we remain committed to providing young Marylanders with access to the food and nutrition they need to succeed. While schools face many uncertainties this year, one thing is for certain – MFB’s steadfast belief that no child should go hungry will eclipse any potential challenges to feeding kids in need.
Our Farm to Food Bank Program’s Superhero: Amy Cawley
Since 2011, Amy Cawley has overseen the Farm to Food Bank Program, which combines field gleanings, donations, and contract growing to form the cornerstone of the food bank’s nutrition strategy. She has helped the program grow from its humble roots with just two partners — First Fruits Farms in northern Baltimore County and Arnold Farms in northeastern Queen Anne’s County — into a powerhouse produce program with more than 60 farms that infuse our statewide food distribution efforts with hundreds of thousands of pounds of nutritious fruits and vegetables annually.
Funding a Brighter Future for All Marylanders
Generous support from public and private sources allowed the food bank to provide food and funds directly to community organizations across the state.
Meet Joe Rodriguez, FoodWorks Success Story
Joe Rodriguez is one of hundreds of Marylanders who have transformed their lives through FoodWorks, MFB’s 12-week intensive culinary training program that helps students become professional chefs and find careers in Maryland’s hospitality industry.
