CATONSVILLE, Md. — On Bloomsbury Avenue, just off Frederick Road, a Catonsville food pantry is living up to its slogan - 'neighbors helping neighbors' - in an area where 1 in 3 people already live with food insecurity.
"We have seen an increase of need, our phones are very busy ringing off the hook," said Caitlin Kirby, executive director of Catonsville Emergency Assistance.
Catonsville Emergency Assistance has been fighting food insecurity in this area for over 40 years, though since the government shutdown began over a month ago, there's been an influx of demand.
Amid shutdown, Catonsville food pantry works hard to help
CEA was also one of the local groups awarded money from Baltimore County last week to meet an anticipated need for food. Kirby says the shutdown is causing them to grow their help.
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"We saw an influx of calls in the past couple of weeks from federal employees who have been furloughed who are not able to make ends meet, as far as food is concerned. These folks typically fall outside of the service income level requirements we have for those we serve, and so we have opened up a program that is specific to federal workers," Kirby said.
Inspiring, however, is the willingness of folks in Catonsville to step up, willing to donate time and money. At the Catonsville Farmer's Market on Sunday, Kirby says CEA collected over 560 pounds of food in a handful of hours.
"The public is really coming out, the community is coming out and giving us many more donations in both food and monetarily," Kirby said.
All this has brought about a greater sense of awareness of the food insecurity our neighbors face.
"That's not a good thing in the sense of, we have more need, but it is a good thing in the sense of, people are becoming more aware of what it might feel like to not have enough to eat," Kirby said.
If you are in need or you'd like to give to CEA, please visit their website.
