About

HOW WE SERVE

Our recipients have encountered various circumstances which now render them in a state of food insecurity. Our Free Mobile Community Markets are held at area elementary schools within designated “food deserts” as defined by the Maryland Food Bank’s report. Low income and underserved communities along with senior residences are locations for the markets.We remove the barrier of transportation by making the markets available in areas where public transportation is unavailable. Every market is created based on the premise that every person is welcomed  and valued as a fully participating member regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, veteran status, physical appearance, etc. We respect the differences of the recipients at our markets. 

The Free Mobile Community Market addresses the lack of fresh and healthy food for those in underserved, low income communities by providing no-cost, access to healthy and fresh protein, produce, dairy and dry goods at designated locations within the communities on a weekly basis. Our Mobile Community Market sites are located all throughout the county; as far north as Brooklyn, Annapolis to the east, Laurel to the west and Lothian to the south.

WHY WE SERVE

According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, In 2019, 640,180 people in Maryland were facing hunger – 195,960 are children. Grave disparities are prevalent in every county in Maryland. In Anne Arundel County, poverty and food insecurity are prevalent. Of the 544,889 people living in Anne Arundel County, 30,862 are living below the poverty line.  Slightly more than 7% of children in Anne Arundel County live below the poverty line.  

Households that are food insecure don’t have adequate access to the food they need. Food insecurity is linked with poor health and development in children as well as academic and behavioral problems. The food insecurity rate in Anne Arundel County is 8.9%.  Over 31% of children qualify for Free and Reduced Price Meals (FARMS) in Anne Arundel County.

According to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, the demand for food assistance across Anne Arundel County in 2021 was unprecedented. It was challenging for member agencies to keep up with the requests for food and other basic necessities. At the height of the pandemic, member agencies assisted five times the number of households each month than they did prior to the pandemic; up from an average of 5,600 households to 34,000 households.

WHAT WE HOPE TO CHANGE

The Free Mobile Community Market addresses the health and well-being of communities, through equity and inclusion and eliminating the Opportunity Gap in Anne Arundel County because we bring food into the communities that need access to food and basic necessities the most.