This Food Bank Feeds Thousands In Rural Maryland, Filling A Huge Need

Allegany County, a rural county in the western panhandle of Maryland, is one of the least healthy counties in the state, now having improved to rank 21 of 24 counties. Our county is older and poorer than most of Maryland. There are large food deserts here, particularly in the more rural parts of the county. Public transportation is almost non-existent, contributing to the poor nutrition and obesity of much of the community and the higher rate of premature deaths.

In adults, food insecurity is also associated with high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, obesity, diabetes, and depression. For children, effects also include asthma and poor learning, as well as behavioral problems like hyperactivity and aggression—and even depression and suicidal ideation. Iron deficiency, in particular, has been associated with poor language comprehension, inability to follow directions, and other cognitive, motor and neurophysiological delays. In the U.S., one in five children is food insecure.

The Western Maryland Food Bank has seen a steady rise in community needs over the past several years. They now serve 10-13,000 people per month in a county totaling less than 68,000. They totaled 1.3 million pounds of food and beverages given away last year to individuals and smaller local food pantries and agencies.

Executive director Amy Moyer has worked there for 34 years. “It used to be people on assistance” who used the Food Bank, she said. “Now it’s people like me who are working and just can’t make enough.” Another notable change has been that “Now I see people with their uniforms on all the time,” Moyer added. As another example, she said, “We had one boy volunteer here—he ended up loading his teacher’s car!”

She’s noted an additional need for emergency help for families. People are losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. They are living on what they got used to, and now, all of sudden, they have less, while the cost of everything has gone up.

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The WMFB has developed a remarkable number of programs to meet the community’s diverse needs. These include “Pop Out Pantries” developed during Covid for drive by and contactless service. Using an adjacent church parking lot, the food bank volunteers regularly served 400 vehicles in only two hours, loading groceries into the trunks of cars.

Nationally, one in five children is unsure where their next meal will be coming from, and 13 million children in the U.S. Face hunger.

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Each Friday in Allegany County, the WMFB sends home food for the weekendfor students in need. This backpack program has steadily expanded and now sends more than 600 packs home weekly, containing dried food (like peanut butter and crackers or granola) and pop-top cans the kids can heat and eat. Asked about his doing better at school, one student told Moyer, “Do you know I eat on the weekend now?”

The food bank has a network supplying it, including Feeding America and the Maryland Food Bank. They glean from local groceries, with Martin’s, Aldi’s, Weis, and Walmart providing fresh food that will expire. So does Frostburg University. The WMFB also receives donations from local farmers.

Moyer has to be nimble and deal with unexpected deliveries of produce. Recently, she received a gift of 80,000 pounds of apples. This week, it was 29,000 lbs. of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. They have regular clients, like the Union Rescue Mission and a group that serves the homeless. She announces the bonanzas on Facebook and texts some clients. Because many of the people they serve don’t have computers or the abiltiy to text, a group of volunteers calls those 300 people. People picking up fresh produce are given tips on how to prepare or store them, too.

Moyer especially seems to enjoy reaching out to and empowering kids to try new foods and make better food choices. She does this by having “mini-markets” where kids can make their own choices and a story time in the park with the Allegany County Library System. As part of that, the food bank hosts a mini Farmer’s Market. The children learn about vegetables and nutrition in these brief sessions.

The food bank is expanding its services, too, with things like their Special Needs Pantry. That has products like Ensure, gluten-free items, Boost, formula, diapers, and adult diapers and wipes.

Nothing goes to waste. Cardboard is recycled. So is plastic from cases of beverages, which go to Frostburg University to be recycled into bricks. Vegetables that are past their prime go to local pig farmers.

Moyer commented on how generous the Cumberland community is in donating what they can financially but more so in the amount of volunteers they have. In the spirit of “passing a gift forward,” some suppport come from people who were themselves helped when they were in need and are now giving back.

As you consider your year end charitable giving, it’s good to look at your own community’s needs as well as the more heavily advertised national and international charities.