EWE Spirit Grant Recipient Story:
Anne Arundel County, Maryland, has one of the highest median household incomes in the
country, and yet 35 percent of its residents are unable to afford basic essentials, such as food,
childcare, housing, healthcare and transportation. Many of these people are working hard at low-paying jobs—sometimes multiple jobs—and still struggling to make ends meet.
Anne Arundel County Food Bank is one of the remarkable organizations providing relief for those experiencing this poverty amidst plenty. Its director of development and external relations, Sarah Reilly, describes the dilemma that so many of the county’s families face: “It forces them to make choices. Most people prioritize rent—because you need to have a roof over your head.” After that, she says, the tough questions begin. “‘Do I put gas in the car to get to my job? Do I pay for my child’s asthma medication? Do I pay for my cell phone, which is my lifeline to everything?’ These are really hard decisions that people in our county are having to make daily, weekly, monthly.”
The Food Bank takes one variable out of the equation by providing nutritious food to all those in need. “We don’t turn anyone away,” says Sarah, who explains that food insecurity is problematic in both rural and urban parts of the county. “We even have very well-hidden areas of poverty in our capital, Annapolis, that the tourists never see.”
Geography and transportation determine whether county residents live in “healthy food priority areas”—places where high-quality, affordable food is inaccessible. In some cases, the closest grocery store may be miles away with no nearby public transportation, making it impossible for individuals and families without cars to reach it. Sometimes the grocery stores are within walking distance but separated from neighborhoods by four-lane highways that are too dangerous to cross.
In many communities, the only feasible options are fast-food restaurants and mini-marts, which sell highly processed, nutrient-deficient food. These contribute to the growing rates of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, among the communities most in need.
“The COVID-19 pandemic shone a bright spotlight on food insecurity, showing us how fragile
people’s lives can be and how easily one crisis can throw them into dire circumstances,” says
Sarah. “But there’s a silver lining to every tragedy.” Before the pandemic, the Food Bank relied
almost wholly on donated, shelf-stable goods. That changed when food drives couldn’t be held
during the shutdown. As donations and government funds flowed in, the Food Bank staff had to flip its model and start buying food.
“We could make decisions about what kind of food we were going to distribute,” says Sarah. “We made a conscious effort to buy nutritious food that people would like to prepare and eat. It’s not enough to just fill bellies with empty calories. To be truly human in our approach, we
provide ingredients for people to make the meals that their parents and grandparents made. This creates a comfort and connection to family, not just sustenance.”
The Food Bank staff began buying fresh produce and meat, shopping in the most culturally
responsive manner possible. They treat neighbors with dignity by enabling them to choose their food items, which also reduces food waste.
Until 2023, the Food Bank was purely a distribution hub, partnering with food pantries
throughout the county. As successful as this was, there were still pockets where the need was
extremely high and county residents couldn’t reach the food pantries. To address this problem,
the Food Bank initiated a mobile pantry program. It purchased a vehicle custom designed as a
mobile pantry to carry 3,000 pounds of food, including fresh and frozen items. The mobile pantry now performs four distributions each month, plus another four distributions throughout the year in conjunction with other partners’ events.
In addition to food, the mobile pantry supplies diapers, incontinence supplies, and other
household necessities. Other partners, such as schools, public libraries, and medical centers,
coordinate their services—vaccination clinics, book distributions, etc.—with the mobile pantry’s
visits, so communities benefit in multiple ways.
All of this would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers who host food drives, sort
donations, and provide other invaluable skills. In the past year, more than 1,000 volunteers gave 5,176 hours of their time to support more than 50,000 monthly visits to the Food Bank mobile pantry and partner pantries.
The EWE Spirit Foundation is proud to contribute to this herculean effort. In a world of so much
plenty, we never want to forget those people in our communities who are still very much in need.
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