The St. Michaels Community Center recently received a No Kid Hungry grant in support of its ongoing food distribution program for children and families experiencing food insecurity in St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred communities. Maryland’s Bay Hundred area is a rural and mostly agricultural area that extends from St. Michaels to Tilghman Island.
SMCC’s food distribution program includes a food bank and community food pantry; a weekend backpack program; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Women, Infants, and Children nutrition outreach and services; after school and childcare meals and snacks; summer program participant meals; and more.
St. Michaels Community Center Food Distribution Director and Youth Programs Coordinator Amy DeWitt works preparing pantry bags and take-out meals for residents in need in St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred area.
No Kid Hungry is a national child hunger organization working to end childhood hunger. The national campaign is run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world, with more at www.nokidhungry.org.
“The St. Michaels Community Center is the only nonprofit in the Bay Hundred area whose primary mission is to provide services to economically disadvantaged residents,” said SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “We also serve people in crisis and emergency situations, including those suffering from the effects of fire, flood, eviction, job loss, or other special circumstances.”
St. Michaels Community Center’s Jeannie Butler prepares take-out meals at the center.
Rofe says 1 in 5 children nationwide are food insecure – that means hungry—with 43% of Talbot public school kids receiving free or reduced-price school meals.
“The $10K No Kid Hungry grant will be used to serve more than 1,000 of our local youth facing food insecurity,” says Rofe. “We still need to count on donor support each year to help meet our community’s needs, but this grant helps to offset the costs of making sure no one goes hungry throughout the entire year, and especially during the holidays.”
The Community Center also participates in the Talbot County Hunger Coalition to help eliminate food insecurity for low-income individuals and families in Talbot County.
The Center’s Community Café and pantry are open three days a week to provide meals and groceries for anyone in need, with limited local delivery provided by a group of dedicated volunteers. The St. Michaels Community Center also hosts food drives and holiday meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, along with year-round engaging programs and activities for children and adults.
Tax-deductible donations to the St. Michaels Community Center are being 100% matched through December, and can be made online at www.stmichaelscc.org. Proceeds from the Treasure Cove Thrift Shop in St. Michaels, Md. also help the nonprofit provide year-round community programs and services that serve, empower, and connect people from throughout the Bay Hundred area.
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