Food Giveaway Saturday Will Help Dundalk Families in Need

Many hardworking adults still struggle to feed their families and must make tough financial decisions to stretch their money from payday to payday.

Recognizing the tough times many are still facing, a collaborative effort between the Maryland Food Bank and the Dundalk Area Ministerial Alliance will provide food Saturday to anyone in Dundalk in need of a little extra help.

"Anybody can come in and get some food," the Rev. Kristi Kunkel, pastor of New Light Lutheran Church, said Friday. "We know there are a lot of hard-working families who don't qualify for permanent assistance, and they're making some really hard decisions when it comes to making ends meet."

People who come to get food will be given a bag when they enter the church, according to Kunkel. They will be able to browse the tables and choose foods they know their family members will eat, or food items they know how to prepare, the pastor said.

Representatives from SNAP (food assistance) will be on hand to offer information to anyone interested on how to apply for more long-term assistance if they are eligible.

The idea for the giveaway first came up through a suggestion from Priority Partners, an insurance agency that works with the Maryland Food Bank.

"They came to DAMA and said they have the resources to give the food away, if we could provide the place and volunteers to help with the distribution," Kunkel said of the insurance group. "So the food bank is bringing 6,000 pounds of food and DAMA is providing the volunteers.

"That's a lot of food, so we hope we have a lot of people come to get it."

While anyone can take advantage of the food giveaway, and participation in some sort of public assistance program is not necessary, all recipients will be asked to sign in, Kunkel said. The food bank needs to be able to document how many people attended, where they're from and how much food was distributed.

"We are more and more recognizing that we're all in this together," Kunkel said. "The world changes so quickly—someone who gets food today might be a donor in the future. We just want to get the food to anyone who needs it."

Details:
Maryland Food Bank food distribution
10 a.m. to noon
Saturday, Jan. 11
New Light Lutheran Church
2120 Dundalk Ave. (corner of Dundalk and Pine avenues)