Volunteers going the distance for Anne Arundel County Food Bank

Logging over 2,000 miles for the Anne Arundel County Food Bank last year, volunteer driver, Rick Smoak, has been one of our superheroes. Working usually on Monday and Friday mornings, you’ll see Rick driving around in our Box Truck to pick-up pallets of food and basic necessities donated from local businesses and organizations.

“When the pandemic hit, our volunteer program was greatly impacted,” said Susan Thomas, Executive Director of Anne Arundel County Food Bank. “We had to suspend our group volunteers on the sorting line, and many of our drivers (essential workers) were seniors at high risk of COVID-19 put their volunteer efforts on hold to protect their health. But Rick continued to volunteer for us, and in doing so, helped us in a time when we saw so much increased food needs in Anne Arundel County.”

The food needs in our County shot up as much as 450% during the pandemic and we distributed over 6.3 million pounds of food in our county. “Rick wanted to do everything possible to get the food out,” continued Susan. “He helped bridge the gap wherever needed. From sorting food, working the warehouse floor, to picking-up donations. That’s why we are so thankful to have amazing volunteers like Rick.”

Rick was one of several volunteers that went to extraordinary lengths to help fight hunger in Anne Arundel County. A special thank you to all our volunteer superheroes during the pandemic including Chris Pokorny, Mike Radike, Steve Small, and Rick Smoak.

If you would like to volunteer, please visit our website for more information. www.aafoodbank.org/volunteer.