Promising Practices - Maryland

Maryland – Baltimore City residents learn about a myriad of assistance programs while awaiting the receipt of fresh produce from the Maryland Food Bank. At the produce give-away/outreach day events held monthly by the Maryland Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Outreach Workgroup, the participants, mostly seniors, are provided information on supplemental nutrition assistance, energy and tax assistance programs and others. Convenience is key when providing services. For example, through the SNAP pre-screening tool provided on-site, the workgroup can identify and enroll qualified individuals right on the spot. Among the members of the workgroup are representatives from the Maryland Food Bank, Towson Field Office of the Food and Nutrition Service, Maryland Department of Human Resources and EarnBenefits, Baltimore. For more information contact: Deborah Flateman, CEO, Maryland Food Bank, www.mdfoodbank.org, 410-737-8282.

Maryland – The Howard County Department of Social Services (DSS) addressed transportation barriers in the southern part of the county by joining with eight community partners to provide service at the North Laurel-Savage Multi-Service Center. Eligibility specialists offer information, answer questions, take applications, conduct interviews and make referrals to other DSS programs on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. DSS staff says the multi-service center provides a great service to the community, particularly to those who are unable to travel to the local office, because it is located closer to their homes. An added benefit is the co-location of benefits ranging from family and child services to language interpretation and legal assistance. For more information, contact: Charlene Gallion, Howard County Department of Social Services, 410-872-8260 or Gail Johnson, Howard County Department of Social Services, gjohnson@dhr.state.md.us, 410-872-8260.

Maryland – Save-A-Lot grocery chain, in partnership with the Maryland Food Bank, hosted two cooking demonstrations in their Baltimore stores. The nutritionist from the Food Bank prepared a healthy meal, and was on hand to answer questions and hand out samples. As Save-A-Lot moves forward with FSP outreach activities, they hope to combine these healthy food demonstrations and the pre-screening events held at other stores into one format. They are working with FNS to identify local partners to work with them in hosting these events at stores across the country. For more information, contact: Jennifer Adach, Project Manager, Government Programs and Community Relations, Save-A-Lot, Earth City MO, Jennifer.adach@save-a-lot.com , 202-352-2178.

Maryland – Somerset County Family Investment Administration office has had promising results in their FSP outreach work by dedicating staff to specific populations. In 2005 one staff person assists the elderly by going to their home and helping them fill out the application. Another staff person is dedicated to the college campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). For more information, contact: Kevin McGuire, Executive Director, kmcguire@dhr.state.md.us, 410-767-7338.

Last modified: 04/30/2009