VIDEO: Community Crisis Center Receives Outstanding Partner Award

The Maryland Food Bank works with more than 330 incredible and passionate Network Partners statewide to help expand access to nutritious food while opening pathways out of hunger for more Marylanders.

It’s Hunger Action Month, and at our recent Hunger Action Symposium: Causing Change, we had the opportunity to recognize one partner in each of the five regions we serve (Western, Northern, Baltimore City, Southern, and the Eastern Shore) with “Outstanding Partner” Awards.

In this fourth of five blog posts, you’ll learn about the great work of the Crisis Community Center in the Reisterstown area.

The Community Crisis Center (CCC) is an MFB Network Partner, serving the Reisterstown community in Baltimore County. CCC is celebrating 40 years of feeding their neighbors and has partnered with MFB for much of that time. But they have grown dramatically over the past two years to meet the increasing need.

“During the pandemic, CCC became a haven to several large immigrant communities that live in the area, saying that they knew them and trusted them. And their numbers have only increased since — now with Ukrainian refugees seeking both food and clothing for their families to resettle, in addition to the already numerous Latin and Nigerian neighbors they already knew well,” said Rebecca Mann, MFB’s Regional Program Director, Northern Region.

In addition to hosting twice-weekly food distributions on Mondays and Saturdays, CCC offers home delivery to local neighbors with medical challenges or emergency situations. They also offer wraparound services such as utility assistance, eviction protection, and school supply support.

The Community Crisis Center is praised locally for the kindness of their passionate volunteer staff.

“As an RPD, I am grateful to partners like the Community Crisis Center who know our neighbors by name, they know when they stop coming and why, they point them towards opportunities, and celebrate with them on their new jobs and circumstances, and they are always there when need is the greatest,” Rebecca shared.