Food Link News
JULY 2014 - Annapolis Area Christian School's traditional day camp, Eagles Explorations, enrolled over 140 children ages 4 to 16. Throughout the week these campers participated in traditional day camp activities, with a special focus on showing compassion to families in need in our community. We wrapped up the week with a field day on Friday where each group worked together to complete various cooperative games and relays. After completing each station, each camper received a food item which they then ran and placed in their own box they decorated earlier in the week. There were 150 boxes collected that totaled approximately 2500 pounds of food!
This amazing food drive was distributed to two Food Link area pantries, Asbury Town Neck United Methodist Church in Severna Park and Saint Phillips Episcopal Church in Annapolis.
We thank each of the campers for their help and support of their neighbors in need!
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Thanksgiving 2013 -
DAISY TROOP # 1287 MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S HOUSE - Thanksgiving boxes
A big thank you to the Daisy Troop # 1287 Montessori International Children's House for the amazing job they did on this service project. They chose to use their earned cookie money to help make and decorate Thanksgiving boxes with gift cards for those that were in need! Their help truly made the holiday special for so many families. Thank you girls!!
October 18-20, 2013 -
ANNEBETH'S GRAND RE-OPENING TO FOOD TO FOOD LINK
We will be highlighting different countries and featuring their food, music and of course wine!
Friday - 3:30pm Ribbon Cutting
4-7pm Taste of Georgia (Country not the State) with Noel Brockett
Saturday - 2-5pm Taste of France with Nat Scott
Sunday - 2-5pm Taste of Spain with Kristin and Jeff - also a few Maryland's Own gems.
A portion of our sales from the weekend will be d to Food Link Maryland.
October 11, 2013 - GAIL FEIRSTEIN OF COLDWELL BANKER S OFFICE'S BIRTHDAY GIFT OF FOOD TO FOOD LINK 
September 27, 2013 - ST. MARY'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOINS GOVERNOR O'MALLEY'S DAY OF SERVICE TO HELP FOOD LINK
St. Mary's Elementary School had a food drive for Food Link on September 27, 2013 as a part of Governor O'Malley's Day of Service. The school children d over 3,000 pounds of food to help those in need in Anne Arundel County. Governor O'Malley visited St. Mary's during the food drive and spoke to the entire student body during morning announcements to thank the children for their generosity.
 Governor O'Malley and his son, Jack, donating food to Food Link. (Photo by the Executive Office of the Governor) |
 Thank you to St. Mary's! |
 Governor O'Malley and St. Mary's students. (Photo by the Executive Office of the Governor) |
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September 23, 2013 - NATIONAL DIAPER BANK HELPS ANNAPOLIS CENTER BRING COMFORT TO FAMILIES
www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/annapolis/bs-md-ar-diaper-bank-0922-20130919,0,7172770.story
October 2012 - FOOD LINK RECEIVES $10,000.00 GRANT FROM GIANT
Food Link has had a wonderful relationship for many years with Giant Food. Giant has supported Food Link's efforts to rescue and provide perishable food for hunger relief efforts in Anne Arundel County. Because of our ongoing partnership, Giant reached out to Food Link, knowing the work we do in Anne Arundel Country is vital to directly feeding the hungry. In conjunction with Hunger Awareness Month, Giant gave $10,000.00 to Food Link which will enable Food Link to continue making an impact in the lives of Anne Arundel's residents living on the edge.
HARUNDALE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GLEN BURNIE, HOSTS A PRODUCE DISTRIBUTION EVENT FOR FOOD LINK
On Friday September 14, 2012 Harundale Presbyterian Church in Glen Burnie hosted a Produce Distribution Event in partnership with the Maryland Food Bank and Food Link. This event was sponsored by Asbury Town Neck United Methodist Church in (Severna Park), Food Link, Glen Burnie Adventist Community Center (Glen Burnie), Harundale Presbyterian Church (Glen Burnie), Heritage Community Church (Severn), John Wesley Church (Glen Burnie) and Empowering Believers Church (Glen Burnie).
Approximately 11,556 pounds of produce was unloaded, bagged and distributed to 990 people. Each church supplied volunteers for this event and filled bags of nutritious food for families and individuals in need.
Pictured in the photo are Carolyn Goss, Regina Byrnes and other volunteers from Adventist Community Services.
September 2012 - MORE DONATIONS FOR FOOD LINK'S DIAPER DRIVE!
 ARINC's Aviation Solutions Division collected diapers for Food Link's Emergency Baby Pantry. |
 And, Abigail Weaver celebrated her 3rd birthday by collecting baby supplies for Food link's Emergency Baby Pantry. Over 750 diapers, 16 packs of Wipes and 8 bottles of baby wash - exactly what we needed! |
August 2012 - KIDS HELPING KIDS RAISES OVER $7,600 FOR LOCAL CHARITIES/ The Down's Devil Rays Swim Team Makes BIG Waves
Kids Helping Kids is an annual swim-a-thon sponsored by The Down's Devil Rays swim team, in Annapolis, MD. This event is a community driven effort focused on improving the quality of life for kids in our community.
According to Brenda Anderson, mother of two swimmers and event coordinator, "this was our third event and we broke many records. Forty swimmers participated and over 6,000 laps were completed. This is an opportunity for our kids to give back to those less fortunate. The swimmers, their parents and our community at large are responsible for our incredible success".
Proceeds totaled $7,600, which was a 250% increase from the first Kids Helping Kids event in 2010, were d to three local organizations - Sarah's House received $1,670 for supplies for their kid's summer camp, Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County (BGCAA) received $3,200 for scholarships to their summer camp and Food Link received $2730, which will go towards Baby Pantry supplies. As a result of the donations, the Down's Rays will be helping hundreds of families in our community.
When asked what she thinks about while swimming over 275 laps, Sarah Anderson, who raised over $600, replied "I just think about all the people we are helping".
This was the first year that adult swimmers where invited to join the effort. Three adults, including the president of The Down's Homeowners' Association, Margaret Gulotta, swam over 200 laps and raised nearly $700!
July 18-20, 2012 - The Greater Annapolis Swim League Collects Over 250 Pounds of Food for Food Link
The Greater Annapolis Swim League organized a food drive for Food Link at their champion swim meets. Over 250 lbs of food was collected during the Bronze, Silver and Gold meets. Lauren Marsden, a student at Spalding and summer swimmer for Bay Ridge Swim Club, volunteered at the Gold meet collecting food and helping to sort and stock the Food Link Emergency Food Pantry.
July 2012 (Annapolis, MD) - Food Link Emergency Baby Pantry Receives Huggies Brand Diapers to Distribute to Families in Need
According to the most recent census, 22 percent of American children live at or below the poverty line. In many cases, their families cannot provide the diapers they need because diapers, which can cost as much as $100 a month, cannot be bought with the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as "food stamps") or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Most childcare programs require parents to provide disposable diapers for their children's use, so a lack of diapers can keep children out of childcare, forcing their parents to stay home from work. Some parents try to stretch their diaper supply by leaving the children in diapers longer between changes or by reusing disposable diapers, but these measures can affect the health and emotional wellbeing of children and their families. Cloth diapers are not a solution because many families are without out easy access to laundry facilities.
Irenee McElwee, Director of Emergency Outreach for Food Link, said "This donation will allow us to provide diapers to expand our program, to serve more children and to ensure that children have the diapers they need to stay clean, dry and healthy. We are very grateful to the generosity of Huggies, NDBN, and K.I.D.S."
This donation was made as part of partnership between K.I.D.S. and NDBN to distribute 20 million Huggies brand diapers to families in need throughout the U.S. in 2012.
To address today's dire need for diapers, every three months, K.I.D.S. and NDBN will distribute five million diapers, d by Huggies Every Little Bottom, to more than 90 diaper banks, food banks and other such agencies for families in need across the United States. Huggies Every Little Bottom was launched in 2010 with the sole purpose to help address the issue of diaper need in North America. Since its inception, the program has d more than 60 million diapers toward this cause.
"Diaper need is a silent crisis in the United States. Diapers are a basic need for children, as essential to their health and well-being as food and shelter, yet one in three families in America struggle to provide diapers for their families. We are thrilled to be working with K.I.D.S. and our Founding Sponsor, Huggies' Every Little Bottom program, to get diapers to those who need them," said Joanne Goldblum, the Executive Director of NDBN.
About K.I.D.S. Since its inception in 1985, K.I.D.S. has provided 67 million underprivileged and disaster-struck children with over one billion dollars of NEW clothing, toys, basic necessities, juvenile products, books and much more. The donations of new products are distributed through an established network of nearly 1,000 local community social service agencies in the U.S. and abroad. K.I.D.S.' efforts reach youth, age 0-18, and their families who are challenged by poverty, homelessness, domestic abuse, low literacy, military family service, major illness, incarcerated family members and disaster survival. For more information on donating new products and supporting our work, please visit www.KIDSdonations.org.
About the National Diaper Bank Network The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) is a newly formed national nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that every child in the United States has an adequate supply of diapers to remain clean, dry and healthy. Its mission is to raise awareness of diaper need and to build the capacity of diaper banks throughout the country by creating a national network of community partners. For more information please visit www.diaperbanknetwork.org.
About Food Link Emergency Baby Pantry Food Link established the first Emergency Baby Pantry in 1992 to support families with infants in crisis. Since then, food link has assumed sole responsibility in anne Arundel county for 6 pantries supplying critically needed items such as diapers, formula, and wipes. We are always in need of donations. If you would like more information on how you can support our baby pantry please contact Food Link at or foodlinkmaryland.org.
May 30, 2012 - Annapolis Rotary Announces Crab Feast Grant Recipients - Food Link of Maryland
The Rotary Club of Annapolis has announced grants totaling $69,700 from the net proceeds of the August 2011 World's Largest Crab Feast. The club received requests from 67 organizations for more than $228,000, and funded 36 of the requests.
$3,000 - Food Link Inc.