No Kid Hungry Maryland Provides Emergency Grants to Feed Kids During Coronavirus Pandemic

Press Release (pdf)

Date: May 12, 2020

Contact: Johanna Elsemore at jelsemore@strength.org

Baltimore, MD — No Kid Hungry Maryland today announced that a total of $188,400 in emergency grant funding has been awarded to school districts and community organizations across the state. This funding will help ensure that kids continue to get the nutrition they need while schools are closed amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

“So many kids across our state rely on the meals they get at school as an important source of nutrition. With many families facing new found economic hardship as a result of this crisis, that need is greater than ever,” said Kara Panowitz with No Kid Hungry Maryland.

Schools in Maryland are now closed for the remainder of the school year, affecting the more than 380,000 kids that rely on the free and reduced-priced meals they usually receive at school. School districts, food banks, and other community partners across the state are finding new, innovative ways to make sure kids continue to get the nutrition they need during this crisis. A variety of food distribution models are being used to help safely connect students with meals, including “Grab and Go” service at schools as well as food delivery along bus routes. Families can visit mdsummermeals.org to find out when and where free meals are available for youth in their communities.

“No Kid Hungry Maryland is proud to support the school districts and community organizations that have stepped up to make sure kids are getting meals while schools are closed, and we are incredibly grateful to the dedicated staff and volunteers working on the frontlines every day to make this possible,”  said Tam Lynne Kelley with No Kid Hungry Maryland.

No Kid Hungry Maryland’s grant funding has supported the following school districts and community organizations, who are serving kids during the coronavirus pandemic:

• “Maryland PTA Health and Safety is very excited to be able to partner with the No Kid Hungry Maryland Team, this partnership is giving us an opportunity to be able to provide Emergency Food Assistance to the families in need in the state of Maryland.” (Dr. Tonja Carrera)
• Prince George’s County Public Schools received No Kid Hungry grant support to help deliver up to 15,000 meals a day to kids from low-income families.
• “At Together We Own It, we work with some of the most vulnerable families in our community, and at times like this the needs are even greater than an average day. There are so many in our community that barely have enough food and supplies on good days, much less in times of crisis. Our staff and volunteers have stepped up, as they always do. We’ve been thrilled to be able to ensure people in our community are not going without.” (Katie Kirby)
• “The Student Support Network is deeply grateful for the support we have received from No Kid Hungry for the food distributions and the mailing of grocery cards to families in great need as identified by school staff in Baltimore County Public Schools.” (Laurie Taylor-Mitchell)
• Calvert County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Department reports that “Operating our current emergency feeding program involved a number of unanticipated expenses.  We are grateful for our No Kid Hungry Maryland grant which has helped to offset some of these expenses and allowed our program to focus on what’s really important, feeding hungry children.” (Valarie Parmer)
• Cecil County Public Schools continues to provide as many as 3,000 breakfasts and lunches each day to kids in need, and No Kid Hungry funding supports these efforts.
• St Vincent de Paul of Baltimore & KidzTable distributes meals to children who are experiencing homelessness and students from low-income families. “The additional funds from No Kid Hungry had an immediate impact on KidzTable’s ability to produce and deliver 4,500 grab-and-go meals a day for low income youth at more than 25 sites in the Baltimore region. We are so grateful for the partnership with Maryland No Kid Hungry at this critical time when food security is a vital to the health and welfare of children and families.”  (Majid Zaghari)
• Baltimore City Public Schools is using the emergency grant from No Kid Hungry for the additional equipment needed to support their meal operations.
• Manna Food Center in Montgomery County is using No Kid Hungry grant funds to provide emergency meals for kids in need.
• 4MYCITY is using No Kid Hungry grants to provide food to communities throughout Baltimore with a particular focus on reaching immigrant communities.
• “Next One Up is able to continue our mission, engaging and inspiring young men and their families through this great crisis. Thanks to No Kid Hungry, we were able to provide over 1,200 meals to our families in a safe and effective manner. Feeding minds, bodies, and hearts!” (Matt Hanna)
• “The Baltimore Hunger Project has pivoted our weekly distribution to twice weekly and increased our output from 650 food packs a week to 2,300. This is a 400% increase in just eight weeks. No Kid Hungry Maryland’s partnership with Baltimore Hunger Project has helped to position us to be able to keep pace with the needs of our community in very uncertain circumstances.” (Lynne Kahn)
• Catholic Charities of Baltimore used a grant from No Kid Hungry to continue meal service during the pandemic.