Community Garden Started!

Southern Maryland Food Bank Community Garden: We finally planted our garden! It is located off of Flat Iron Road in Great Mills. Mother Nature and all of her rain put us a few weeks behind schedule, but we have 4 tomatoes, 4 green peppers, 3 squash, 3 cucumber and 2 egg plants in and growing. I will be keeping a diary of its progress this summer in hopes that we can expand to Calvert & Charles next year. If you would like to volunteer to help weed and keep it going, please let me know! I will be going down once a week from the food bank and several times a week from my home in Solomons! I would like to thank John & Anne Richards for contacting Mr. Lee Dyson of Dysons Lumber to have him plow the area for us and thank him for doing such a great job!! The land is being donated by Jay Friess and his wife, a big thanks to them too!! Wal-Mart In Prince Frederick has become our garden sponsor by giving us gift cards to buy some of our plants and tools! THANK YOU ALL!

Announcing our Community Garden

The Southern Maryland Food Bank is going green…for vegetables!!

We are starting our first Community Garden in St. Mary’s County! We will be providing a fresh and healthier way of eating to those we serve in our communities.

If you would like to be part of the Southern Maryland Food Bank Community Garden Club, please contact Brenda for more information at 301-274-0695 or if you would like to donate to our project, please see our list below!

Needed Items:

1. Vegetable Plants (all varieties welcomed)
2. Garden Tools (shovels, spades, trowels, rakes, hoes, gloves)
3. Garden Equipment (tiller, edger, wheel barrel, tomatoes cages, fencing, stakes, watering cans)

Volunteers are needed and welcomed as we continue to ease the pain of hunger in Southern Maryland!

Learning New Tactics to Fight Hunger

Southern Maryland Newspapers story on the Southern Maryland Hunger Conference.
Read the article...

Stuff the Bus event, Saturday May 2 in St. Mary's

Citizens Encouraged to Stuff the Bus

“St. Mary’s County STS buses will arrive empty and leave full,” said Jack Russell, President, Board of County Commissioners. He is referring to the Stuff the Bus event on Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Citizens can make donations to Stuff-the Bus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Food Lion Food Stores in Charlotte Hall and Callaway, the Giant Food Store at First Colony, McKay's Food and Drug Stores in Leonardtown and Wildewood and the Wal-Mart Supercenter Store in California. After the buses are filled with donations, deliveries will be made directly to pantries and food banks throughout St. Mary's County.

Food banks throughout the county are experiencing a shortage of non-perishable food items. Due to the current economy, requests have increased while donations have decreased. In response to this problem, the Department of Human Services is partnering with the Department of Public Works and Transportation to organize a community food drive to replenish local food pantries and soup kitchens. County and State employees will be stuffing their own bus on April 30 as boxes from County and State offices are emptied into an STS bus parked in front of the Governmental Center. Some suggested items for the Bus Stuffing include: canned goods and nonperishable foods that do not need cooking, eg., canned meats and fish, canned fruits and vegetables, canned soups and puddings, canned fruit juices, dried fruit and nuts, cookies and crackers, peanut butter and jelly, coffee and tea, and bottled water.

Questions can be directed to the Human Services Department at 301-475-4200, ext. 1846.

Tough times feeding families

Hunger conference to address increased need in region.
Article in the Enterprise Newspaper April 15, 2009

read more..

Cyclists Plan Ride on April 25 to Fight Hunger in Calvert County

On Saturday, April 25, at 8:00 am, over 300 bicyclists plan to mount up and hit the roads in the first annual End Hunger In Calvert County Bike Ride. Riders from throughout the metropolitan area, and as far away as Maine, will arrive with one goal in mind, to help feed hungry families in Calvert.

Event organizers expect to raise close to $10,000. The money will go directly to help re-stock the shelves of food pantries in Calvert County.

Full story: http://somd.com/news/headlines/2009/9811.shtml

Note: The group organizing this event is not affiliated the SMFB.

FOX5 TV News Report on the So. Md. Food Bank

Lack of Supplies Hurting Food Pantries

By Claudia Coffey, Washington MyFox 5 TV News

HUGHESVILLE, Md. - The economic downturn is impacting more families than originally thought.

All you have to do is look at any of the region's food banks for proof. The Southern Maryland food bank says the need is so great they have trouble keeping the shelves full. The food bank says the people that gave donations last year are the people that are coming in this year in need of help.

At the Southern Maryland Food Bank, the minute the doors open, the food starts flying off the shelves. Every Monday, Brenda DiCarlo is in charge of making sure the 32 pantries they serve get the items they need. These days that's tough to do.

"To meet our pantry needs right now we would need to have about 20-25 thousands pounds on hand every Monday morning when we open. But we are lucky to have ten to eleven on hand. It just has become that desperate for us here," says DiCarlo.

Less items being donated and the greater need has forced the food bank to start limiting items for the first time in 25 years and there's even been Mondays were there wasn't enough food to even open the doors. Last year the food bank distributed 310 thousand pounds of food for the entire year. This year they have already distributed 375 thousand pounds of food.

Ray Allen with Hughesville Baptist Church is one of the pantries that depends on the food bank. He's seen the number of families in need more than double in a matter of weeks.

"Up until three months ago we were serving 25 families a week now as of a couple of weeks ago we had 68," says Allen.

He's on the front lines, and says each month they distribute the food, a line forms out this small shed before they even open their doors. They've even had to cutback on the food they're giving out.

The Southern Maryland food bank depends on donations from area stores and when they can't get enough donations they have to purchase the food. Which is happening a lot more frequently these days.