Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Press Release 1-14-15

Mark Your Calendars for the second annual Worcester County canned food drive

Worcester County Volunteer Services will host its second annual food drive for the Maryland Food Bank (MFB) from Jan. 26-30, 2015. All county employees and the public are invited to participate.

The focus of this food drive is on providing ready-to-eat canned meals. Canned items most needed include meats that are high in protein – such as tuna, salmon and chicken – and hearty stews.

“The 2014 statistics revealed that one in every five children and senior citizens are food insecure, which means they don’t know what or when their next meal will be,” Volunteer Services Manager Kelly Brinkley said. “No one should have to carry the stress of wondering whether or not they will eat on any given day. You and I working together can help alleviate this stress from our neighbors by donating canned goods that are whole meals in themselves. Together, we can provide them with a healthy and nutritious start to 2015.”

Beginning January 26, canned food items can be deposited in specially-marked Maryland Food Bank barrels at these participating locations:

· Worcester County Government Center in Snow Hill

· All five Worcester County Branch Libraries: Ocean City, Ocean Pines, Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke

· Worcester County Recreation Center in Snow Hill

More than 45,000 individuals on the Eastern Shore are food insecure, and 16,000 of them are children. In Worcester County alone 12.8% of the population is food insecure. That is the fourth highest food insecurity rate on the Eastern Shore, behind Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties. Those we are helping are our friends, our neighbors, the children your kids attend school with every day. Thirty eight percent of these families fail to qualify for federal or state assistance because on paper they do not meet the minimum standards.

Worcester County, together we really are citizens and government working to secure a brighter tomorrow. For more information about the Worcester County food drive, contact Brinkley at (410) 632-0090. Organizations interested in hosting food drives are invited to contact MFB Managing Director Jennifer Small at small@mdfoodbank.org.