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HOW THE COLLAPSE OF THE FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE HIGHLIGHTS FOOD INSECURITY IN
MARYLAND

By Danielle J. Brown
April 25, 2024
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Canned food items being stored at Anne Arundel County Food Bank this week. Photo
by Tommy Tucker/Capital News Service.

At the start of April, the hunger-relief nonprofit Maryland Food Bank noticed
that there was a significant uptick in online traffic and web searches of
Marylanders looking for places to secure food for their families.

Carmen Del Guercio, CEO and president of the food bank, says that the
organization noticed a 300% increase in activity on their website at the start
of April compared to the first half of March, and he suspects that part of the
interest is due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early
morning of March 26.

“Given that there was such a significant increase in over a relatively short
period of time, I believe that the bridge is probably having something to do
with that,” he said.

The collapse of the bridge and the closure of the Port of Baltimore occurred in
the final weeks of the 2024 legislative session, at a time when groups such as
the Maryland Food Bank were watching bills that could help them provide
hunger-reduction efforts to more residents across the state. Unplanned
catastrophes such as the bridge collapse show that families may find themselves
unexpectedly searching for available food assistance programs, such as the
Maryland Food Bank.

“I think that what’s happening is families, employees and businesses that the
port supports are seeing a little bit of a pinch, or are anticipating a pinch,
and that folks are keen and preparing for that and beginning to search for
vehicles in that area that could potentially support food for them in that
area,” Del Guercio said.

He said that when there’s a crisis such as the collapse of the Key Bridge and
other major catastrophes, food support networks such as the Maryland Food Bank
try to stay ready to help when needed.

“What we’re doing is make sure we’re staying connected with local governments,
local union officials, other people on the ground to…monitor activity, volume,
and ensure that we are setting aside some additional food as needed. Because if
they start seeing that spike climb pretty quickly, we want to make sure that we
can provide to them as well as other partners in our network,” he said.

While the bridge collapse has increased the amount of people looking for food
assistance in the state, Maryland has been battling food insecurity long before
the tragedy.

According to Feeding America, a partner of the Maryland Food Bank, one in 10
people in Maryland face hunger, and 37.1% of households that receive federal
food assistance include children.

During session, the General Assembly took some legislative action to help
provide food insecure households with additional funding opportunities and other
measures to reduce the amount of hungry Marylanders.

One of the bills provides a few extra dollars each months to seniors receiving
federal food assistance. Senate Bill 35, sponsored by Sen. Cory V. McCray
(D-Baltimore City), was approved by the general assembly and is awaiting
consideration from Gov. Wes Moore (D). The House version, House Bill 666, was
also approved by the legislature.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, shortened to SNAP and sometimes
referred to as “food stamps,” helps provide low-income households with money for
food. The minimum benefit is $23 per month and the average benefit provided to
Maryland households was $306 per month in fiscal 2024, according to
a legislative analysis of the bill.

While SNAP is a federal program, the funding comes from federal and state
sources, and Maryland currently provides financial supplements for those aged 62
and older with an additional funds to ensure that they receive at least $40 a
month.

McCray’s bill initially proposed removing the age requirement and would have
ensured any SNAP household to receive at least $95 each month through state
supplements.

The bill was amended during session. The final version of the bill lowered the
eligibility age from 62 to 60 years old and ensures that those who qualify for
SNAP receive at least $50 each month, up from the current $40 supplement.

The fiscal summary for SB 35 says that the additional supplement will increase
general fund expenditures by $2.9 million in the 2025 fiscal year, and $3.9
million in fiscal 2026 and after.

Del Guercio noted that the General Assembly was working in a constrained fiscal
year but said that lawmakers were able to approve funding to support the
Maryland Food Bank and provide additional hunger-relief resources.

“Funding overall is something that we’re excited that we’re able to maintain in
what I know to be a difficult budget year,” he said.

Another successful bill that the Maryland Food Bank supported is SB 425, which
deals with Maryland Meals for Achievement In-Classroom Breakfast Program that
helps schools serving a large percentage of children who qualify for free or
reduced meals.

Currently, middle and high schools are able to provide those meals in any
“broadly accessible” parts of the school, but limits had been placed on
elementary schools.

“For elementary school kids who may arrive late to school, this restriction
limits their access to free breakfast,” bill sponsor Sen. Shelly Hettleman
(D-Baltimore) said during the legislative session.

Moore signed SB 425 and the House version, HB 368, on April 9, which will grant
elementary schools the same flexibility that middle and high schools have.

Groups such as the Maryland Food Bank are supportive of bills that help reduce
the number of hungry children and households in the first place, and are pleased
with the passage of the governor’s priority legislation known as the ENOUGH Act.

ENOUGH stands for stands for “Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions,
Governments, and Households,” and creates a $15 million grant program that aims
to help targeted local communities reduce childhood poverty in certain areas.

“We support that as well as an effort to begin to support organizations on the
ground and in communities all across the state are responding to diversifying
needs,” Del Guercio said. “And so for us and our wrap-around approach, in terms
of providing other supports and finding ways to address the root causes of
hunger, we find that this is an important legislative win.”

Republish
Tags: Carmen Del GuericoCory McCrayFrancis Scott Key BridgeMaryland Food
BankSession 2024Shelly HettlemanWes Moore
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DANIELLE J. BROWN

REPORTER

Danielle J. Brown is a new Maryland resident covering health care and equity for
Maryland Matters. Previously, she covered state education policy for three years
at the Florida Phoenix, along with other topics such as abortion access and
LGBTQ+ issues. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, she is a 2018 graduate
of Florida State University, where she served as an editorial intern for
International Program’s annual magazine. She has also contributed stories to
Rowland Publishing and reviewed community theater productions for the
Tallahassee Democrat.

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Creative Commons Attribution
How the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge highlights food insecurity in
MarylandAt the start of April, the hunger-relief nonprofit Maryland Food Bank
noticed that there was a significant uptick in online traffic and web searches
of Marylanders looking for places to secure food for their families. Carmen Del
Guercio, CEO and president of the food bank, says that the organization noticed
a 300% increase in activity on their website at the start of April compared to
the first half of March, and he suspects that part of the interest is due to the
collapse of the <a
href="https://www.marylandmatters.org/2024/03/27/ferguson-promises-aid-for-affected-port-workers/">Francis
Scott Key Bridge in the early morning of March 26.</a> “Given that there was
such a significant increase in over a relatively short period of time, I believe
that the bridge is probably having something to do with that,” he said. The
collapse of the bridge and the closure of the Port of Baltimore occurred in the
final weeks of the 2024 legislative session, at a time when groups such as the
Maryland Food Bank were watching bills that could help them provide
hunger-reduction efforts to more residents across the state. Unplanned
catastrophes such as the bridge collapse show that families may find themselves
unexpectedly searching for available food assistance programs, such as the
Maryland Food Bank. “I think that what’s happening is families, employees and
businesses that the port supports are seeing a little bit of a pinch, or are
anticipating a pinch, and that folks are keen and preparing for that and
beginning to search for vehicles in that area that could potentially support
food for them in that area,” Del Guercio said. He said that when there’s a
crisis such as the collapse of the Key Bridge and other major catastrophes, food
support networks such as the Maryland Food Bank try to stay ready to help when
needed. “What we’re doing is make sure we’re staying connected with local
governments, local union officials, other people on the ground to…monitor
activity, volume, and ensure that we are setting aside some additional food as
needed. Because if they start seeing that spike climb pretty quickly, we want to
make sure that we can provide to them as well as other partners in our network,"
he said. While the bridge collapse has increased the amount of people looking
for food assistance in the state, Maryland has been battling food insecurity
long before the tragedy. According to Feeding America, a partner of the Maryland
Food Bank, one in 10 people in Maryland face hunger, and 37.1% of households
that receive federal food assistance include children. During session, the
General Assembly took some legislative action to help provide food insecure
households with additional funding opportunities and other measures to reduce
the amount of hungry Marylanders. One of the bills provides a few extra dollars
each months to seniors receiving federal food assistance. <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0035?ys=2024RS">Senate
Bill 35,</a> sponsored by Sen. Cory V. McCray (D-Baltimore City), was approved
by the general assembly and is awaiting consideration from Gov. Wes Moore (D).
The House version, <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0666?ys=2024RS">House
Bill 666</a>, was also approved by the legislature. The <span class="LEwnzc
Sqrs4e"> </span>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, shortened to SNAP and
sometimes referred to as "food stamps," helps provide low-income households with
money for food. The minimum benefit is $23 per month and the average benefit
provided to Maryland households was $306 per month in fiscal 2024, according to
a <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2024RS/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0035.pdf">legislative
analysis of the bill.</a> While SNAP is a federal program, the funding comes
from federal and state sources, and Maryland currently provides financial
supplements for those aged 62 and older with an additional funds to ensure that
they receive at least $40 a month. McCray’s bill initially proposed removing the
age requirement and would have ensured any SNAP household to receive at least
$95 each month through state supplements. The bill was amended during session.
The final version of the bill lowered the eligibility age from 62 to 60 years
old and ensures that those who qualify for SNAP receive at least $50 each month,
up from the current $40 supplement. The fiscal summary for SB 35 says that the
additional supplement will increase general fund expenditures by $2.9 million in
the 2025 fiscal year, and $3.9 million in fiscal 2026 and after. Del Guercio
noted that the General Assembly was working in a constrained fiscal year but
said that lawmakers were able to approve funding to support the Maryland Food
Bank and provide additional hunger-relief resources. “Funding overall is
something that we’re excited that we’re able to maintain in what I know to be a
difficult budget year,” he said. Another successful bill that the Maryland Food
Bank supported is <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0425">SB
425</a>, which deals with Maryland Meals for Achievement In-Classroom Breakfast
Program that helps schools serving a large percentage of children who qualify
for free or reduced meals. Currently, middle and high schools are able to
provide those meals in any “broadly accessible” parts of the school, but limits
had been placed on elementary schools. “For elementary school kids who may
arrive late to school, this restriction limits their access to free breakfast,”
bill sponsor Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore) said during the legislative
session. Moore signed SB 425 and the House version, <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB0386?ys=2024RS">HB
368</a>, on April 9, which will grant elementary schools the same flexibility
that middle and high schools have. Groups such as the Maryland Food Bank are
supportive of bills that help reduce the number of hungry children and
households in the first place, and are pleased with the passage of the
governor's priority legislation known as <a
href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0482?ys=2024RS">the
ENOUGH Act.</a> ENOUGH stands for stands for “Engaging Neighborhoods,
Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households,” and creates a $15 million
grant program that aims to help targeted local communities reduce childhood
poverty in certain areas. “We support that as well as an effort to begin to
support organizations on the ground and in communities all across the state are
responding to diversifying needs," Del Guercio said. "And so for us and our
wrap-around approach, in terms of providing other supports and finding ways to
address the root causes of hunger, we find that this is an important legislative
win.”

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