Help feed Frederick’s hungry

Friday, Dec. 23, 2005

The Frederick Community Action Agency is holding its annual fund-raiser to support both the soup kitchen and food bank.

Both programs have operated almost exclusively through donations. The goal for the fundraiser is $60,000 to support operations through 2006. Additional money raised will support the operation of other programs, such as the Medbank Program and the Transitional Shelter for Homeless Families.

To help keep the soup kitchen and the food bank open, mail contributions to the Frederick Community Action Agency, 100 South Market St., Frederick, Maryland 21701. Checks should be made payable to the Friends for Neighborhood Progress, the nonprofit organization that sponsors the work of the Frederick Community Action Agency.

In operation since 1984, the Frederick soup kitchen serves a hot evening meal, seven nights a week, 365 days a year to as many as 110 hungry people a night. The soup kitchen serves more than 23,000 nutritious meals annually through the efforts of a paid cook and approximately 200 dedicated volunteers.

The food bank, in operation since 1983, provides a three- to five-day supply of food to families and individuals facing economic crisis. Many of the families served through the food bank are low-income and struggle each month to afford both the rent and the groceries for their families.

The food bank serves between 350 and 450 families each month.