Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman is allocating $500,000 in emergency funding to help the Anne Arundel County Food Bank address increased demand during the government shutdown.
WATCH: Anne Arundel County provides $500K emergency funding for local food bank
The money will come from the county's disaster response fund as more residents seek food assistance for the first time.
"They have expressed to our staff that they're scared, they're embarrassed and uncertain how to navigate the system," a food bank representative said. "Last week at one of our mobile distributions in the Fort Meade area, we had uniformed service members in line for food. That should not happen."
Food distributions will begin Monday, operating four days a week at senior centers across the county from 3 to 6 p.m. The drive-through operations will stock each site with approximately 500 boxes of non-perishable food.
The emergency funding comes as the food bank reports a significant increase in demand, with many first-time users expressing fear and uncertainty about accessing assistance programs.
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