11 local companies provide funding supporting food access in high-need neighborhoods
BALTIMORE – The COVID-19 Food Stability Fund, created through a collaboration by 11 local companies, announced today the awarding of $659,000 in grants to 50 Baltimore organizations providing food to Baltimore City children, families and seniors.
The grants, ranging from $2,500 to $15,000, will allow the organizations to increase their programs that secure and deliver meals, groceries, and prepared foods for Baltimore families and seniors in neighborhoods with a deficit of food options as identified by the Mayor’s office. Those neighborhoods include: Harford, Echodale, Perring Parkway, Christopher, Wakefield, Ashburton, Forrest Park, Howard Park, Sandtown-Winchester, Harlem Park, Cedonia, Frankford, Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, Hawkins Point, Belair-Edison, Old Town, Allendale and Irvington.
The 50 organizations, listed below, were selected after a public request-for-proposal-process.
The COVID-19 Food Stability Fund, housed and managed by the Fund for Educational Excellence, was initiated by the philanthropic representatives of local companies, including: The Baltimore Ravens and The Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, Bank of America, Bloomberg Philanthropies, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), Comcast, BGE/Exelon/Constellation, Legg Mason, M&T Bank, T. Rowe Price, Under Armour and Wells Fargo.
The COVID-19 Food Stability Fund has raised $1.3 million, the remainder of which is being used by Baltimore City Public Schools to ensure meal delivery to students who are unable to access meal sites in Baltimore.
“Our COVID-19 emergency food response is a critical and far-reaching effort that requires the collaboration and resources of hundreds of city agency, nonprofit, corporate and community partners,” Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said. “I want to extend special gratitude to the 11 corporations that contributed the money to establish the COVID-19 Food Stability Fund at the Fund for Educational Excellence to support this vital work. Making sure we are reaching all of our communities and their diverse food needs is a core value of our emergency food strategy, and having these 50 community partners on the ground to help us to do that is essential. I thank you all.”
“Times of adversity reveal the power of teamwork, and the current crisis facing Baltimore’s families and communities calls for us to unite together as one team,” said Stacey Ulrich, Head of Global Philanthropy and Community Affairs at Under Armour. “In partnering with fellow corporate leaders and supporting these incredible community organizations through the COVID-19 Food Stability Fund, together we are ensuring families throughout Baltimore can safely access food.”
“Stepping up to support the city we call home is of the utmost importance,” said John Brothers, president of the T. Rowe Price Foundation. “With schools closed and the employment landscape shifting, many Baltimore families deserve help accessing the food they need. We’re happy to help and are inspired by the many grant-receiving organizations whose work is having a real impact on food stability in Baltimore City.”
“The complexity of our community’s health needs is growing as this crisis continues, with food stability near the top of the list in Baltimore City,” said Dr. Destiny-Simone Ramjohn, CareFirst’s Vice President of Community Health and Social Impact. “As a community, coming together to provide support to those who most need it could not be more urgent, important, and impactful. We are proud to partner with these remarkable organizations to expand our city’s access to essential food sources.”
