Feed St Marys

The Maryland Department of Human Services, through St. Mary's County made $30,000 available to offset COVID induced hunger in ate 2020, with the proviso that the funds had to be expended by Feed St. Mary's by the end of the fiscal year. To accommodate this requirement, Feed St. Marys distributed $1,000 grants to each of 17 identified food pantries and soup kitchens to help reduce their COVID related burden. The remaining $13,000 was used to purchase grocery store debit cards to go towards the purchase of protein as needed by the pantries and soup kitchens in St. Mary's County. MD. The FY20 issued checks in 2020 and after some monumental mail delays, all but three cleared bank before the end of the FY, thus the reported difference between expenses and income. The remaining checks did post in early FY 2021. Similarly, the $30,000 grant funds were also lost in the mail and did not arrive until after he start of the new year.

Feed St. Mary's was initiated under the auspices of the Lexington park Rotary Foundation in 2019. It became an independent 501(c)3 in 2020, just about the time that COVID lockdowns took effect. At this time, Feed St. Mary's also became a partner with the Maryland Food Bank, allowing purchase of low-cost food through this vital entity. The Maryland Food bank, was, in turn, the recipient of COVID relieffunds and, for the duration of the Fiscal Year, was able to offer food to its constituent members at no cost. As a result, Feed. St. Mary's was able to fully exercise its mission to stay on top of food demand in St. Mary's County, MD with minimal out of pocket expense to buy food directly in Fiscal Year 2020.