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.