Maryland Food Committee
Robert V. Hess, President, Ext. 110
Ralph E. Moore, Chief Operating Officer, Ext. 108
2521 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, Md. 21218
(410) 366-0600
{410) 366-3963 fax

According to its mission statement, "The Maryland Food Committee's mission is to end hunger and malnutrition in Maryland. In order to accomplish this, we will help feed people today while working to achieve the permanent end of hunger."

The group was started nearly 30 years ago, in 1969, by an ecumenical, interfaith, multi-racial coalition based in Baltimore (but with statewide interests) in response to a study that found many children in Baltimore schools were going hungry.

One of the group's first projects, in the early 1970s, was a pilot program for nursing mothers in the Cherry Hill neighborhood - a program that later evolved into the federal, nationwide Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). This is still one of MFC's proudest accomplishments, and it's a good demonstration that a local group and local program CAN make a difference.

With a staff of 18 and an annual budget approaching $1 million, MFC focuses on two specific objectives: Influence state law and policy, and address local needs in individual communities throughout Maryland by "networking" with local groups or helping community advocacy groups form.

Two years ago, Maryland Food Committee began an exciting collaboration that may evolve into a significant change in its organization and nature. Joining forces with Action for the Homeless, another statewide advocacy group, to work together in support of legislative efforts in Annapolis, the groups found that they worked together so well that they began to pursue further ways of working together, possibly up to and including a merger of the organizations. Stopping short of such a drastic move initially, however, they agreed to work in "strategic affiliation" for a year, under the supervision of a committee made up of board members from both organizations and with the help of a consultant. MFC Director Linda Eisenberg having left the organization, Action for the Homeless Director Rob Hess became President of the collaboration, and in turn hired Ralph Moore as Chief Operating Officer of MFC. Activities during the year of joint operation have been successful, and the joint boards are expected to adopt a more detailed plan this summer. Will it be a full merger? Maybe not, Hess says; they might create something totally new and different, and could consider expanding the collaboration to include other organizations as well.

Meanwhile, a number of new and effective initiatives have occurred during the past few years, both before and after the collaboration began.

* An "Opportunity Fair" at Thanksgiving time brought together some 90 agencies to provide a one-stop shopping smorgasbord of services ranging from medical and dental checks to legal aid to job support, followed by a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. More than 3,500 people came, a tremendous success that persuaded city government to establish a permanent, ongoing Day Resource Center making many of these services readily available.

* Food Pantries in Schools, an innovative model with strong national potential, adds food pantries to selected public schools in low-income neighborhoods with a creative twist: To qualify for a grocery bag, adults must volunteer to help out in the schools. The result? Improved nutrition and a strong incentive to get poor families involved in their children's school.

* On the legislative front, the coalition is making excellent progress toward passage of a Maryland Emergency Food Bill, an initiative that would earmark state money (the governor suggests $500,000, while MFC would like $2 million) to fund food buying for emergency nutrition providers.

* To help keep pressure on the legislature, the groups have come up with a highly effective idea: In addition to its usual efforts to marshal crowds for rallies and hearings at the State Capital (an effort so effective that they turned out more than 2,000 people for a recent, record-shattering rally), they're also mustering a "Heavy Hitters" list -- a group of prominent business leaders and public officials who enjoy exceptional access to elected officials, and whose words carry real weight with the governor and legislators, all carrying the organization's legislative agenda.

As always, there are a lot of powerful models coming out of this creative Baltimore group ... and with its history as the organization that piloted WIC two decades ago, this group already boasts a track record as a national policy innovator.

All the feature stories on @GRASS-ROOTS.ORG's pages are reported and written by Robin Garr, a prize-winning journalist who has visited more than 500 innovative grassroots programs in all 50 states since 1990.

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