How We Work


The Maryland Food Bank is a clearing house for large amounts of donated product gathered from the food industry and distributed to soup kitchens, food pantries and emergency shelters. In FY10 the Maryland Food Bank distributed 18.6 million pounds of food to a statewide network of partners. No one else does what we do.

Long Range Plan Outcomes

In 2007, our board of directors charged the Maryland Food Bank with four outcomes to accomplish over the next five years to create the Maryland Food Bank of the future.  

Narrow the Hunger Gap  

How can the Maryland Food Bank feed all 370,000 Marylanders living below the federal poverty level in its service area?

The answer is simple.  We must adequately distribute the appropriate amount of food to our entire service area so that we can feed all people in need. In order for us to do this we must: find more nutritious food and find better ways to distribute this food to our partner agencies and increase participation in government-funded feeding programs. 

Goal #1: Find More Food

For several years our industry has seen a decrease in manufacturer’s overruns and production mistakes. In order to find more food we must get savvier as to how we acquire it. We must: 

1        Utilize government food sources; and
2        Engage in retail rescue programs (meat, deli, distressed frozen and refrigerated product) are on the rise and we are actively pursuing this opportunity more often.

Goal #2: Find Better Ways to Distribute This Food to Our Partner Network

Direct service to underserved areas is something we have explored. Pantry on the Go (a mobile food pantry program intended for outlying areas) is a perfect example of fundable, effective ways of providing food and nutrition education to children and families.

Build a Strong Network

As the anti-hunger expert in our state, we have the responsibility to build a stronger network. This includes listening to our network partners’ needs. We will:

1        Conduct research on our network partners’ needs; and 
2        Facilitate inter-agency collaboration by conducting annual meetings, and expanding opportunities for our agencies to share best practices with each other.  

It is also our responsibility to provide our agencies with the best service possible. The Maryland Food Bank staff has already begun to work very hard on improving this service. We will:

1        Improve menu and ordering operations;
2        Move towards online ordering; and
3        Foster greater agency accountability by improving their orientation to the Maryland Food Bank. 

Create a Sustainable Organization

Assuming that there will always be food waste that can be redirected to the hungry, we need to assure that the Maryland Food Bank develops ways to sustain its operation. The Maryland Food Bank’s long range plan delves into ways to improve financial health, attract and retain high-quality staff, ensure top-notch financial reporting and create ways to measure success. Some elements of plan are:

1        The creation of an endowment fund;
2        Expansion of an annual fund program;
3        Creation of a planned giving program;
4        Improvement of benefits;
5        Improvement of professional development support; and
6        The creation of a “culture of accountability.”  

Create a Movement to End Hunger

Over the next five years our focus will be to bring ending hunger to the front and center of the minds of all of our constituents—be they network partners, donors, government officials or the poor and hungry that we feed.  

In order to do this we must:

1        Engage our network and general public in advocacy and public policy;
2        Collaborate with other anti-hunger agencies; and
3        Institute a branding and marketing campaign that effectively creates a movement to end hunger.