$20K Grant To Help Form Committee To Address Food Insecurity In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The Howard County Local Health Improvement Coalition has received a $20,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Health’s Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Control to establish a committee to address food insecurity in Howard County. This newly-formed HCLHIC committee will work to implement food security initiatives among priority populations.

“Food insecurity exists in Howard County and this challenge has been exacerbated by rising food prices as a result of inflation,” Howard County Health Officer Dr. Maura Rossman said. “This committee will leverage partnerships with local stakeholders in an effort to address this concern while improving food access and having a positive impact on the overall health of our community.”

Nearly one in six county residents reported concern about running out of food before they could afford more, according to the coalition.

“Despite the resources around us, many of our neighbors are not sure when their next meal will be,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “We’ve increased efforts during the past three years to eliminate food insecurity, including providing nutritious meal giveaways for our older adults, subsidizing meals through our award-winning Roving Radish program for families and supporting our Howard County Food Bank. We look forward to the positive impacts of this new committee and will continue to work towards a hunger-free community.”

Once established, one of the first objectives of the committee will be to gather additional insights from residents about community food insecurity through survey and data analysis toward the goal of achieving a measurable improvement in this area.

The HCLHIC was one of five state coalitions to receive this award, along with Baltimore, Charles, Garrett and St. Mary’s counties.