BALTIMORE — One nonprofit in the Waverly neighborhood has experienced a major setback after they were robbed.
Over $25,000 worth of food and items were stolen, and now they are asking for the community's help to get back on their feet.
Feeding those in need—that's the goal of the small non-profit called The Bit.
"Since March of 2020 we've distributed more than 400 thousand meals, for free,” said Monica Lapenta, who is the Executive Director and CEO of The Bit Center.
Bit stands for B-more Italian.
Lapenta said they started handing out the free food boxes during COVID and have continued helping communities ever since. They serve between 450 and 500 families every week.
"We do serve between, let’s say, Belair Road, North Avenue, the city county line, and Reisterstown, so a pretty large area, and Sandtown-Winchester,” said Lapenta.
Monday through Wednesday, the warehouse is open for people to walk up and get a box of food to take home. Not only is there no fee, but they also deliver it to people's homes free of charge.
"Especially now with the EBT reduction food its very expensive, fresh quality food even more so to be able to rely on the resources we provide it's very important for the community,” said Lapenta.
But on Monday, Lapenta walked in to a bit of a shock.
"People came and broke in during the weekend; they had the time to go through most of the boxes to take away most of our freezer and refrigeration stuff. They stole over 100 fans that were set aside for community distribution,” said Lapenta.
Lapenta says they are sad about what happened, but this setback isn't going to keep them down. They are looking to get back on their feet as soon as possible to continue their giving spirit.
"We love the city, we love this community, we're not going anywhere. We're not changing, we're not changing location. We're here, and we truly love what we do,” said Lapenta.
The nonprofit is asking for the community's help with donations of money and food, but no perishable items.
Head to thebitcenter.org to make a money donation or call 410-547-9934 to schedule a time to drop off food items.
