Patch Holiday Food Drive In Harford County

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Hunger is an urgent problem for more than 23,000 people in Harford County, 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.

Local resources include the following:

• Bel Air UMC Emergency Pantry, 21 Linwood Ave., Bel Air, MD 21014. Drive-thru program from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month. Make sure the trunk is empty. Soup kitchen operates from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every Wednesday.
• Centre United Methodist Church, 2409 Rocks Rd, Forest Hill, MD 21050. Food pantry is open 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
• Harford Community Action Agency, 1321-B Woodbridge Station Way, Edgewood, MD 21040. Those who meet 200 percent poverty guidelines can pick up once a month from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday; and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
• Oak Grove Baptist Church, 2106 Churchville Rd., Bel Air, MD 21015. Open 9 to 11 a.m. every third Saturday. Stay in your car.
• Salvation Army, 300 Seneca Ave Havre de Grace, MD 21078. Call 410-939-3535 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mondays, leaving a message with a name, county, number of people in the family and reason for food need. The Salvation Army will call back with an appointment.
• Saint Johns Cupboard, 114 N Union Ave, Havre de Grace, MD 21078. Open every Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 1200 E Churchville Rd., Bel Air, MD 21014. Open Thursdays 6 to 7:30 p.m. and Fridays 10:30 a.m. to noon. For assistance at other times, call the church office at 410-838-3178 or e-mail office@smlc.org. Participants must show photo identification and are eligible for help once every 30 days.
• Tabitha's House, 112-D Connolly Rd., Fallston, MD 21047. Call 410-877-9730 to schedule an appointment in advance; open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Once clients arrive, they are asked to remain in their vehicles, and food will be brought to them.
• 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.

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 Harford County will rise to 12.3 percent in 2020, up from 9.3 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.