Howard County Maryland Addresses Food Insecurity (HCAFI)

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

In response to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard County government coordinated through the efforts of the Department of Community Resources and Services (DCRS), developed and implemented a broad collaborative network; including government departments, non-profits, faith communities, public schools, for-profit companies and private citizens to address food insecurity in the community. The need in the community resulted from the rise in unemployment at the same time that distributing food through schools and 50+ centers were shuttered. In an effort that is still on-going, a total of 9532 individuals, plus 1156 additional families, were provided with 62,068 hot meals; 1345 bags or boxes or groceries; 1871 meal kits; 401 snack packs; 1985 gifts card to purchase food; and 7619 pounds of food. Food was made available at over 16 different locations in the County, through the collaboration with more than 18 different partners.