DEAL ISLAND, Md. - Turnout was high Wednesday afternoon at the Deal Island Volunteer Fire Department for the Maryland Food Bank's Mobile Market.
The Mobile Market is a smaller scale mobile food pantry that is specially designed to bring not just non-perishable food items, but also a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, and seafood deeper into communities struggling with food insecurity.
Recent years in the wake of the COVID pandemic have seen economic upheaval and inflation that has has many Eastern Shore families pinching their pennies until they squeal.
"It's very little money. Prices are up, gas goes up, food prices go up," said Doris Hoffmann of Princess Anne, Md. "This free food is helping a lot of people to keep from starving. It really is."
Hunger in the United States, and even in Maryland, is more common than some folks might realize.
"One in three Marylanders are finding a hard time to make ends meet," said Carmen DelGuercio, of the Maryland Food Bank. "Forty five percent of households are saying that sometimes their kids are going without because they don't have enough money to buy food."
Compounding issues with food insecurity, some Eastern Shore communities have found themselves with few or no retailers of fresh food and grocery items within a reasonable distance.
That's why the Maryland Food Bank developed the Mobile Market. The Mobile Market is set up like a small grocery store, with a refrigerator and freezer for cold and frozen items, and shelves for fruit and vegetables, as well as non-perishable items. The small size of the unit makes it easier to bring these items into smaller communities that either don't have a food pantry, or do not get visits from larger mobile food pantries.
The idea was developed shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because of safety restrictions, the Mobile Market was used to deliver pre-packed food boxes.
Now that the pandemic restrictions have mostly been lifted, the Mobile Market is now taking on its original role - allowing folks in need to address their unique needs.
"They come right where they are, and the Mobile Market allows them to make choices in terms of what's needed on their family's table," said Kim Nechay of the Perdue Foundation.
That was particularly important for Hoffman.
"For the protein it's very important, especially when you're elderly," Hoffman said. "I have diabetes and I have to watch what I eat anyway, and it's a healthy way."
The Perdue Foundation has played a role in making the Mobile Market a reality, donating $100,000 for the purchase of the customized van, as well as fresh Perdue chicken products for the market.
The Mobile Market on the Eastern Shore has been so successful that the Maryland Food Bank has procured two more, which serve the Baltimore-DC corridor and Western Maryland.
In the coming weeks, the Mobile Market will make stops at Kent Island, Preston, Tilghman Island, and Galena. For more information on when and where the Mobile Market and other Maryland Food Bank events will occur, visit mdfoodbank.org.
To inquire about the possibility of the Mobile Market to visit your Maryland community, contact the Maryland Food Bank.
