Unfortunately, that need continues to trend upward. To date in FY 2025, the AACFB is averaging 51,231 instances of assistance each month, up from an average of 48,501 for the same time period last year.
One critical way that you can take action on behalf of the Anne Arundel County Food Bank is to attend one of the eight budget hearings and testify to the positive impact that the work of the Food Bank has on you, your immediate community, and/or the County as a whole. Hearings will take place in January and February 2025. Identify your district and sign up to testify at one of the budget listening sessions.
To assist participants, the County has developed a Budget Testimony Toolkit with numerous resources to help you navigate Anne Arundel County’s annual budget process and advocate effectively for your community. The Toolkit can be accessed at: Budget Testimony Toolkit | Anne Arundel County Government
If you prefer, you may also submit written testimony to budget-comments@aacounty.org. Whether spoken or written, your words will send a powerful message that the work of the Anne Arundel County Food Bank serves a vital need, and that as a caring community we must invest our resources in the alleviation of food insecurity and the well-being of all our residents.
To assist you in the crafting of your message, below are several informational bullet points that may be helpful. Please feel free to personalize your message. Stories of lived experience can offer a particularly powerful perspective to our elected officials.
- Despite being one of the richest counties in one of the richest states in the richest country in the world, 10.5% of the population of Anne Arundel County (61,000+ people) is food insecure and 42.37% of Anne Arundel County children enrolled in public schools are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
- As a result of extremely high housing costs, fluctuating food (and other necessities) pricing, and loss of the expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, requests for emergency food assistance continue to increase annually.
- Currently, the Anne Arundel County Food Bank is providing an average of 50,000 points of service every month, up from an average of 48,000 at this time last year.
Family members in food-insecure households are more likely to struggle with psychological and behavioral health issues. Hunger impairs judgement, decision making, and focus. It can cause disruptive behaviors, extreme fatigue, and a reduced ability to learn and retain new information. - Dedicated County funding for food access ensures that our under-resourced neighbors can access nutritious food options consistently and can help prevent a host of health-related issues, including mental health and learning challenges.
If you register to testify, please let us know by emailing communications@aafoodbank.org. We will have an organizational representative at each Town Hall and will reach out to you before the event to determine a meeting spot and arrange to sit together. And, of course, please reach out to us with any questions that you may have.
