Governor thanks community partners for their support during the holiday season and throughout the year
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley joined Delegate John Olszewski Jr., Councilman John Olszewski, Sr., community leaders and others at the Essex United Methodist Church to participate in one of the Maryland Food Bank’s “Mobile Pantries”. The Governor helped unload food from the truck and distribute food to pantry clients, and highlighted the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, an initiative launched by the O’Malley-Brown Administration two years ago. Governor O’Malley included the Maryland Food Bank in the General Fund budget, granting the organization an additional $1 million last year to meet demand, enough to provide more than 2 million meals for disadvantaged Marylanders.
“When a citizen goes hungry – especially a child – anywhere in Maryland, it impacts all of us. There’s no such thing as a spare American, or a spare Marylander. And during this holiday season, we should remind ourselves not only of the blessings many of us have, but of our responsibility to serve the greater community for those in need,” said Governor O’Malley. “As Marylanders we’ve always led the way in times of great adversity, setting an example for other States to rally around. Even through these tough times, we are leading the way toward becoming the first State in the nation to end childhood hunger.”
Maryland developed a partnership that includes community groups, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger, and ensure they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Governor O’Malley is the first Governor in the nation to commit to ending childhood hunger by 2015 and has placed Childhood Hunger as one of his 15 strategic goals.
“Governor O’Malley and his Administration continue to be among our strongest partners in the fight against hunger in Maryland,” said Deborah Flateman, Maryland Food Bank CEO. “While more Marylanders than ever are at risk for hunger, the one million dollars that the O’Malley Administration has provided to purchase food will provide more than two million meals to those in need. We are grateful for the support of the governor and will work to help him meet his goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015.”
Governor O’Malley was also joined by executives from Walmart, who have donated a turkey to every box of food distributed at the pantry today, and have partnered with the Maryland Food Bank and other organizations for the donation of over $445,000 for hunger relief in Maryland. This includes the donation of a refrigerated truck by the Walmart Foundation, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for Food Bank programs.
“We are proud to be a partner in this important cause, which is making a difference in the lives of families throughout the state,” said Walmart Regional Operations Manager Alex Barron. “This initiative is an example of the five-year, $2 billion commitment that Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have made to ending hunger in America through its Fighting Hunger Together campaign. We are pleased to have awarded $350,000 in local cash grants toward this cause and to have donated a refrigerated truck that assists the Maryland Food Bank in its critical work.”
The Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Maryland’s aggressive summer meals outreach and marketing campaign last year resulted in a 17.4 percent increase in the number of children participating in summer nutrition programs from the previous summer. While there was a decline in the number of children participating nationally, Maryland had the second largest increase in the country. And last year, the Department of Human Resources reported a 23.56% increase in households with children under 18 participating in the Food Supplement Program, formerly known as food stamps. In the last two years, the Partnership’s efforts to raise awareness about the availability of school breakfast resulted in a 9% increase in the number of students eating school breakfast every day.
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