Patch Holiday Food Drive In Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD — Hunger is an urgent problem for about 12.3 percent of people in Baltimore, according to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization.

You can help. 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.

Now through Dec. 31, we’re encouraging readers to make a tax-deductible contribution to Feeding America in the Patch Holiday Food Drive. Every $1 given to the organization buys 10 meals.

See a list of food distribution sites in Baltimore City.

Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million people, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year’s end because of the pandemic. Feeding America projects the food insecurity rate in Baltimore will rise to 21.7 percent in 2020, up from 18 percent in 2018.

The Maryland Food Bank, a hub that distributes food to community organizations and food pantries around the state, has seen an increase in those seeking food.

"Because of the pandemic, we're seeing more need for food assistance," according to Maryland Food Bank President & CEO Carmen Del Guercio. In September, the food bank reports it distributed almost 4.6 million pounds of food, a 70 percent increase compared with September 2019, when it gave away 2.7 million pounds of food.

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 million 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.