FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic, No Kid Hungry has Provided $1.5 Million in Grants to help Maryland Schools and Nonprofits Serve Free Meals for Kids

Contact: Johanna Elsemore at jelsemore@strength.org

Baltimore, MD – Since COVID-19 first forced students across Maryland to transition from  classrooms to virtual learning, No Kid Hungry has provided a total of more than $1.5 million in grants to schools and community organizations across the state that are providing free meals for kids. The funding has helped expand and improve meal programs to meet the increased need while also adapting to safely reach children regardless of where they’re learning.

The crisis of the past year has reversed a decade’s worth of progress toward ending child hunger. Today, as many as 1 in 4 kids in Maryland could be facing hunger, compared with 1 in 6 prior to the pandemic.

“It’s been nearly a year since the pandemic upended daily life in Maryland, putting many more children at risk of hunger. The economic devastation this has caused for families will continue even as case counts go down and Marylanders are vaccinated. No Kid Hungry remains committed to supporting the meal programs that will be a critical lifeline for kids and families as we begin to rebuild from this crisis,” said No Kid Hungry Maryland Director Ayesha Holmes.

Grant funding from No Kid Hungry helps school districts and community organizations with the added staffing and equipment costs required to expand and adapt their programs to meet increased need and operate safely under these unprecedented circumstances, using grab & go, delivery and other innovative models.

No Kid Hungry has also launched a text line to help families find free meals for kids and other food assistance. You can text “FOOD” or “COMIDA to 877-877 or visit No Kid Hungry’s Meal Finder Map to find resources in your community.

Since March, No Kid Hungry has granted to the following schools and nonprofits:

 

Access Art

4MYCITY INC

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington

Associated Catholic Charities

Asylee Women Enterprise

Baltimore Hunger Project

Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore

Bon Secours Baltimore Foundation

Calvert County Public Schools

Caroline County Public Schools

CASA de Maryland

Cecil County Public Schools

Charles County Public Schools

Charles Regional Medical Center Foundation

Chesapeake Culinary Center/Friends of the Grape

Columbia Baptist Fellowship

County Commissioners of Calvert County

Cross Community

Cumberland YMCA

Deep Launching, Inc.

End Hunger in Calvert County

Equity4HC

Family League of Baltimore City

Franciscan Center of Baltimore

Frederick County Public School District

Garrett County Public Schools

Harford County Public Schools

Howard County Government

Howard County Public School System

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

LifeStyles of Maryland Foundation

MANNA Food Center

Manna House

Maryland Congress of Parents and Teachers

Maryland Food Bank

Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless

Montgomery County Food Council

Montgomery County Public Schools

Montgomery Housing Partnership

Next One Up

No One Left Unhelped Inc

Outcast Food Network

Patterson Park Public Charter School

Prince George’s County Public Schools

Queen Anne’s County Public Schools

REACH Partnership

Saint Luke Lutheran Church

Silver Spring Christian Reformed Church

Small Things Matter

Sonrise Church

St. Francis Neighborhood Center

St. Mary’s County Public Schools

St. Michaels Community Center

St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore

Student Support Network

Thread

Together We Own It

UEmpower Of Maryland

University of Maryland Medical Center

Washington County Public Schools

We Care Incorporated

Wilde Thyme

Wolfe Street Academy

Y in Central Maryland

 

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About No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.