Get A Tax Deduction In Holiday Food Drive In Baltimore County

BALTIMORE COUNTY — The Patch Holiday Food Drive is raising money for Feeding America and the food banks, pantries and meal programs in Baltimore County.

The cumulative effect of 39 weeks of historic joblessness and business failures because of the coronavirus pandemic is as plain as the bare cupboards in millions of kitchens across America: As many as 50 million people, including more than 91,000 people in Baltimore County, don’t have enough to eat.

You can help by giving to Feeding America in Patch’s Holiday Food Drive.

Contributions are tax-deductible, so if you give now, you’ll be able to include your donation in your 2020 tax return.

The food drive runs through Dec. 31. For every $1 you give, Feeding America is able to supply 10 meals.

Many of the families experiencing food insecurity don’t qualify for federal nutrition programs, and they need to rely on their food banks and other hunger relief organizations to have enough to eat, according to Feeding America.

Patch and Feeding America teamed last summer to address the growing hunger crisis in America, connecting readers with the organization’s 200 member food banks that serve 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, and providing an easy way to donate money to help their neighbors.

Here are some of the places in Baltimore County that may benefit:

• Assistance Center of Towson Churches, 116 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Towson, MD 21204. The group offers lunches for the homeless and prepacked grocery bags for neighbors in need. Call 410-296-4855 for more information.
• Bridgeway Community Church, 11301 Red Run Blvd., Owings Mills, MD 21117. Drive-thru pantry from 10 to 11:30 a.m. first and third Saturdays monthly.
• Catonsville Emergency Food Ministry, 25 Bloomsbury Ave., Catonsville.To make an appointment, call the office at 410-747-4357 or request assistance using the online form.
• Harvest Church of God, 605 Westminster Pike, Reisterstown, MD 21136. Food pantry is open the third Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Greater Bethlehem Temple Church, 8334 Liberty Rd., Windsor Mill, MD 21244. Food assistance for Baltimore County residents from 12 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Bring photo ID. Call 410-521-4072 to be put on the appointment list.

• Community Crisis Center, 725 Main St., Reisterstown, MD 21136. Deliveries of emergency food by appointment in 21136,21117, 21071 ZIP codes only or driveway drive-thru emergency food pickup from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays and 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays.
• Helping Hands Food Pantry, Upper Falls, MD, Salem United Methodist, 7901 Bradshaw Rd., Upper Falls, MD 21156. Food distribution is available during the pandemic from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday and Friday. Individuals must call 410-592-2226 before arriving and leave name, number of children and number of adults. A five-day emergency supply of food will be ready when a person arrives.
• Liberty Church,11301 Liberty Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117. Food available from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursdays for residents in the 21117, 21133 and 21784 ZIP codes.
• Liberty Community Development, 7111 Windsor Blvd., Windsor Mill, MD 21244. Drive-up pantry from 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays while supplies last.
• Liberty Food Pantry, 3301 Milford Mill Rd., Baltimore, MD 21244. Food available 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sundays, from 1 to 3 p.m. every third Tuesday and upon request.
• Loaves and Fishes at Mt. Olive United Methodist, 5015 Old Court Rd., Randallstown, MD 21133. Groceries available third Saturday of each month from noon until 1:15 p.m. Food is generally available on an emergency basis during the week by contacting the Mt. Olive UMC office at 410-922-2853.
• Mount Calvary AME Church, 349 Eudowood Lane, Towson, MD 21286. Food pantry operates from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Call 410-296-9474 for more information.
• The Pantry at Community Christian Church, 8007 Corporate Dr., Suite C, Nottingham, MD 21236. Email thepantry@communitycc.net or call The Pantry at 410-335-5940 to set up an appointment to pick up a week's worth of nonperishable groceries.
• Perry Hall United Methodist Church Food Pantry, 9515 Belair Rd., Baltimore, MD 21236. Call 410-256-1897 for more information.
• Reisterstown UMC, 308 Main St Reisterstown, MD 21136. Food pantry from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
• St. Ursula Pantry, 8801 North Rd., Parkville, MD 21234. The food pantry is open the third Thursday of the month. Call 410-665-0918 for more information.
• Thankful Paws pet food bank, Perry Hall, MD 21128. The nonprofit food bank delivers pet food to low-income individuals (monthly income under $960) and the elderly (70-plus years old) in Perry Hall as well as those experiencing homelessness. Call 410-907-PAWS from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday except holidays or email BARK@THANKFULPAWS.ORG for more information.
• Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1100 Philadelphia Rd., Joppa, MD 21085. Open 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturdays.

Baltimore County has also set up a food assistance map for those searching for locations closest to them. Residents who need help can call 410-887-2594 or email food@baltimorecountymd.gov.

Seniors and their advocates can call 410-887-2594 or email aginginfo@baltimorecountymd.gov.

Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million people, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year’s end because of the pandemic.

To put that into perspective, about 35 million people in the United States struggled with hunger in 2019, according to the latest report on household food insecurity by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Households with children are the most vulnerable to food insecurity. Before the pandemic, more than 10 million children lived in food-insecure households.

Feeding America projects the food insecurity rate in Baltimore County will rise to 14.2 percent in 2020, up from 11 percent in 2018.

Feeding America says that 80 percent of its food banks — or 4 in 5 — are serving more people than they were at the same time last year. With the pandemic worsening during the holiday season, many people who never before worried about how they’d pay for a holiday meal are turning to food banks for the first time.

From the beginning of the pandemic in March, Feeding America distributed 4.2 billion meals — enough to provide every U.S. resident with breakfast, lunch and dinner for just over four days.

In the first four months of the pandemic, 4 in 10 people were first-time visitors to food banks, according to Feeding America.

How To Support The Patch Holiday Food Drive

Patch has teamed with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.