Talbot County Free Library (TCFL) and the Talbot County Hunger Coalition will be presenting “The Hunger Crisis in Talbot County” program on Thursday, May 25 at 6 p.m. at the Easton Library.
This program will be a panel discussion with speakers representing the various pantries and meal providers in Talbot County and how they are handling the increasing challenge of hunger in our own backyard. Panelists include:
· Emily Moody and newly-elected Easton Mayor, Megan Cook, will represent CarePacks that makes sure over 300 children in the public schools have backpacks of food to take home over the weekend, supplementing the schools’ free and reduced meals.
· Kate Mansfield will represent St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, and probably the oldest of food pantries in Talbot.
· Gary Yeatman will represent St. Mark’s Food Pantry that sprang up during the pandemic as a temporary pantry and then morphed into a full-time food pantry now serving 65 families or 163 people a week, mainly seniors.
· Patrick Rofe will represent St. Michaels Community Center, which has an active food pantry, but he will speaking about the meals they serve the community and their plans to expand that operation.
· Catherine Poe will represent the Hunger Coalition.
“According to the Talbot County Hunger Coalition, 11% of our neighbors are food insecure (hungry) and 15% children are food insecure. There are 17% of our children living below the poverty line; 61% of our children participating in free or reduced school meals; 6% of our seniors living below the poverty line; and 12% of our resident relying on SNAP”
“Hunger doesn’t discriminate. It afflicts the young and the old, black and white, the employed and the unemployed. It is the refrigerator standing empty at the end of the month except for last night’s rice and beans. It is the child who fills up on potato chips because it is a cheap meal. It is the senior citizen whose Social Security checks don’t stretch to pay for one more grocery trip that month,” said Poe.
During the program, the panelists will address the major issue of hunger confronting Talbot County and what more can be done. All Talbot County Free Library Programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.tcfl.org.
About Talbot County Free Library
It is the mission of the Talbot County Free Library to enrich and renew the lives of the people it serves. There are two locations: The main library in Easton is located at 100 W. Dover St.; and the St. Michael branch is at 106 Fremont St. The Maryland Room in the Easton branch holds a voluminous collection of genealogical resources and historical documents. Services at both locations include the circulation of books, DVDs, and digital devices, as well as free Wi-Fi, public computers, exhibits, and programs for both children and adults. Many of the Talbot County Free Library’s programs are made possible by the generous support of the local community. For more information, please visit www.tcfl.org. Be sure to like the library on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @Talbotcountyfreelibrary.
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