COVID-19: Community Shout Out from Senator Antonio Hayes

A letter from Senator Antonio Hayes:

Dear Friends,

Below you will find a few important COVID-19 updates and resources. Please share with your networks and be sure to follow me on social media at @antoniohayes40 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more information and resources, please visit my website at www.antoniohayes.com/covid19.

As always, my office is here to help in any way we can, please do not hesitate to reach out. To contact me, please email antonio.hayes@senate.state.md.us or leave a voicemail at 410- 841-3656 and someone will return your call as soon as possible.

Regards,

Senator Antonio Hayes
40th District- Baltimore City

Community Shout Out: Thank you Food Project!
Fred Rogers from PBS show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, once said “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.’ You will always find people who are helping.” And in times like these, we certainly see a great amount of helpers, like The Food Project of Baltimore, providing us with hope and faith while fighting the good fight within the front lines.

The Food Project is an organization serving as a social enterprise that provides job opportunities to young people within the community. Its mission and core value is to build on serving the young people within the community, and in turn, the young people serve the community. These young people within The Food Project are mentored and immersed within the topics such as cooking and nutrition, restaurant development, urban farming, and food production.

In their efforts to help the community during this COVID-19 pandemic, every week they prepare fresh packed meals from about 18,000 lbs of food, varying from fruits, vegetables, proteins, drinks etc. and then sort and deliver to vulnerable individuals and families throughout the community. They are also incorporating a newsletter that will include recipes, online classes, at-home activities, and mental health tips to connect and virtually provide help within the community.

With such tremendous efforts in serving our community, we are certainly grateful for all they have done and are currently doing. And as such, we should strive to emulate such virtues to honor their efforts in fighting the good fight in these challenging times.


Nearly 40,000 pounds of food donated to the Food Project in Baltimore this week!

WMAR NEWS BALTIMORE

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/region/baltimore-city/nearly-40-000-pounds-of-food-donated-to-the-food-project-in-baltimore

A local program received a huge donation on Wednesday.

The Food Project in South Baltimore received nearly 40,000 pounds of food to feed up to 600 families.

"People don’t realize how many people are in need and we don’t realize it until we see numbers like this," said Drucilla Williams."We're just thankful for the food project and all of the volunteers here in the community because its much needed."

The non-profit helps the community with jobs for the teens and food for their families.

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Bettering Baltimore with More Than a Meal

WMAR2 News - Kelly Swoope

https://www.wmar2news.com/news/region/baltimore-city/bettering-baltimore-with-the-food-project?fbclid=IwAR0cq3VA00-uwAiQkbWXdu6Y_bqCOTjoOFucSdspxN4uowPbPjhFkqSohGM

BALTIMORE — A police search helicopter scouring the skies, boarded up vacants lining the streets. This could be any Baltimore neighborhood.

"We felt like the children were crumbling with the buildings. They were left to be forgotten."

Welcome to Southwest Baltimore, where tucked away in the shutdown Samuel F.B. Morse elementary you'll find The Food Project.

"The community knows that this is their space, so there's a lot of pride."

The kitchen cafeteria turned community center is serving up a full plate.

The Food Project provides opportunities for Baltimore's youth

by Lisa Robinson of WBALTV Ch11

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/the-food-project-opportunities-baltimore-youth/29023967

A program in Baltimore is giving young people a place to make money and stay off the streets.

The Food Project brings cooking restaurant skills, mentorship and job opportunities to young people in southwest Baltimore.

When 11 News visited, Demonta Palmer, 23, and Alfonso Austin, 19, were making Seedy Nutty, a treat containing peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and more.

"We can take Seedy Nutty and put it on the map," Austin said.

Seedy Nutty is part of The Food Project, which is located in a closed school that has been re-purposed so the organization could use the kitchen and cafeteria for programming.

[Read Full Article]

 
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Baltimore Nonprofit Fuels a Hungry Community With More Than Just Food

Baltimore Nonprofit Fuels a Hungry Community With More Than Just Food

Walking into a brand new restaurant always fills us with a sense of excitement and curiosity. I hope the food is good. I wonder if we’ll get a good waiterI hope the check isn’t too steep at the end of the night.Thoughts start to flood your brain as your stomach growls and you make your way to the table.

My husband and I find our seats at a communal table with a group of strangers and are greeted by the smiling face of 18-year-old Cee-Cee. “Welcome to The Bowl,” she says, holding a mini-clipboard dressed in a Washington Redskins jersey. We quickly learn that this is a Super Bowl-themed restaurant and all the wait staff, considerably younger than your average restaurant workers, are dressed in jerseys and referee-style shirts.

The one-room dining hall is packed and it’s not just because of the great food. This restaurant is a hot spot in the Carrollton neighborhood of Baltimore because of its unique format. Only open on the last Sunday of the month, the menus and themes are always rotating—and it’s totally free. Not to mention, the menu items—like buffalo cauliflower bites, potato skins, mac n’cheese, and fried chicken—are all created and prepared by the children bustling around at the restaurant.

Urban Farming for Beginners: Cultivating Shoots

Urban Farming for Beginners: Cultivating Shoots

The way in which average Americans live is changing. Trends indicate more and more people are leaving rural areas to live in cities and urban regions instead. Census data confirms this: approximately 80% of Americans now live in and around cities.

Those people still need food. Unfortunately, shipping food from rural farms to urban areas is costly. It can also substantially deplete resources. That’s why urban farms have continued to grow in popularity.

Urban farms are valuable because they provide city-dwellers with reliable local food sources. This reduces the various costs involved in shipping food in from other regions. Additionally, innovations such as hydroponics and aquaponics have substantially improved urban farming methods in recent years. You can use oscillating saw blades or even an electric chainsaw to make a DIY system, but they’re also relatively easy to find online if you’re willing to spend a bit of money.