Largest Spring Food Drive Postponed; County Food Bank Needs Help

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — The Anne Arundel County Food Bank postponed its largest spring food drive for the second straight year, officials announced on May 4. This comes at a time when the food bank is in high demand.

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a 450 percent increase in the number of people seeking food and basic needs, the organization reported. About half of those residents had never been to a food pantry before, leaders mentioned.

That becomes problematic when the same group points to a 71 percent drop in the number of local food drives.

The most recently delayed effort is the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. The National Association of Letter Carriers sponsors the initiative. Workers from 18 county post offices usually collect about 40,000 pounds of food during this annual blitz.

“This food drive historically has been vital to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank to ensure we have enough food to meet the needs of our county,” Executive Director Susan Thomas wrote in a blog post. “Donated foods are in low supply and we encourage our Anne Arundel Community members to support the Food Bank through online drives instead.”

Residents can donate money by texting "FOOD" to 41444 or visiting aafoodbank.org/donate. Locals can also head to aafoodbank.org/make-a-difference to see the items that are most needed from Amazon and Target.

Patch has partnered 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 2021, about 42 million Americans may 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.

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