Anne Arundel County Public Schools, MD Parent's Corner, 1 Oct 2019

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From YouTube: 10 01 19 Parents Corner

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Shelley talks with Susan Thomas, Executive Director, Anne Arundel County Food Bank, about the AACPS Harvest for the Hungry campaign during October.

A

Today, on parents corner a conversation about the harvest of the hungry kids, helping kids campaign.

A

Today, we're joined by Susan Thomas executive director of the Anne Arundel County Food Bank she's, here to talk about the harvest for the hungry kids, helping Kids Campaign welcome Susan. It is so nice to see you today, um I thought, we'd start by I know our viewers really like to hear a little bit about our guest. So could you tell me something about you that well.

B

I've been at Anne Arundel, County resident for my entire life and I've worked at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank for 16 years now, and I became the executive director in January of 2018.

A

Okay, okay, so hasn't been too long, but enough to have a good feel for what what it's all about in terms of being an executive director, but then you've been there for a while too. So a lot of people I've been there, which it's actually quite amazing. It's part of the reason I wanted to have you here, but a lot of people don't really know what what the in Toronto County Food Bank is and and what it does. So could you give us a little background information so.

B

The in Toronto County Food Bank is the distribution center for pantries soup kitchens shelters within Ian Arundel County to be able to receive food to either you utilize in-house or to give out to the public that needs it. So that way, if somebody needed help, there was somewhere that they can go to in their local community to get that help. Alright.

A

So you hold the food, but you don't have a soup kitchen there. It's all of those different groups come to you to get food. Yes,.

B

A

Okay. Okay, so that's it's! It's having been there! It's really quite amazing, because it's a very, very large. Can you give me a sense of what the building is like it is.

B

About thirty four thousand square foot building and it used to be the central kitchen to the Crownsville State Hospital. We have three walk-in refrigerators, two walk-in freezers and want to say about four box trucks. We are highly utilizing volunteer support, so we have about 12 drivers right now that are volunteers, so we're always looking for any additional help.

B

If anybody has time, especially during the month of November, when we start picking up all of the food from the schools, so even if you can't drive, if you're able and you want to ride along and help to pick up the food, it would be great. Okay,.

A

So that's actually a great segue into what we're we're really gonna, be focusing on today so year-round. There are groups that donate food to you which right, but we have something really special in Anne, Arundel, County called harvest for the hungry, kids, helping Kids Campaign and what I really love about it as the person from the school system. It's it's worrying about all this and taking care of it and getting the message out is that the kids?

A

It's it's educational for the kids, because it's kids, helping kids and kids, understanding the value of charity and helping others. And so can you give me a sense of of what, on your end, what is harvest for the hungry look like and why we do what is going on yet well.

B

In the school system alone, there's over 26,000 kids on the free and reduced meal, so all of those kids when they go home, some of the only meals that they have or what the school offers for free. So what we do is we try to make sure that we can bridge the gap to make sure that they either get food to take home over the weekends through the backpack program or that their parents can get food for free.

B

So they have something to subsidize food stamps if they get it now, food stamps, a lot of families aren't eligible to receive food stamps, but they're still struggling to make ends meet right so to bridge the gap for those families, the only resource that they have our pantries to go to get food, and this drive is so important, especially at this time of year, because on top of feeding year-round, we have Thanksgiving and Christmas, and this Drive makes all of that work possible.

B

Last year. It was really important when we were helping with the furloughs and the government shutdown and it's these kids that are helping the families and their peers, and they don't know that that family needs help. But they do right.

A

So for people that don't know we were just talking about some of the boxes, so what your group is going to be doing and a lot a lot of these are your volunteers and truck drivers is, is you've already communicated with the schools today, communicated with the schools and said?

A

Oh, it's it's it's time, because the whole entire month of October from October 1st to October 31st, is what we call our harvest for the hungry time and students and like, in our case, a lot of the staff Center office staff are donating food and money to the harvest for the hungry. So it's a really great way to collect the food. So can you tell me when I say food? What kinds of items are best for people to donate the most useful for you, we're.

B

Always looking for healthy options when at all possible, but canned meats, proteins, peanut, butter, jelly where you're gonna donate jelly or maybe pasta sauce, we try to get those items in plastic jars, so eliminate waste and spoilage from them breaking which is easier than it used today. Yeah it is but cereals, breakfast bars, pasta, right and canned vegetables. Now we're really trying to put focus on healthy eating, so we've been trying to supplement the food with produce that we're giving out every week.

B

So if we vegetables are great but we're giving out probably 20 to 30 pallets of produce every week now, so we're really trying to supplement that with healthy items. So the proteins canned meats, the canned fruits so.

A

But so you are getting the produce from from a different place. Yeah in terms of the schools, though, you want to have those those canned items: soups, yeah, peanut butter, jelly, all of those kinds of things and I like to to tell people the kinds of things that you know that you would want to eat it at home.

B

And I think we're all trying.

A

To be more healthy anyway,.

C

A

The things that you would eat are the things as long as you think that it's gonna.

B

A

Okay, in a box for a little while are the things that they want to donate, correct, correct.

B

Yeah and we do have information online and I know it's a lot to remember so you can always go to our website and look for the full list. Mm-Hmm.

A

And I know I'm just thinking back to when my kids were in elementary school. They used to just get so excited so.

B

A

Just such a nice way for to build that excitement in children. You know so there's the food part of it, but then there are also quite a lot of monetary donations during during this drive. So how does that.

B

Work so the money that we receive is we. You can do a lot with money. You can actually use it to purchase the food later in the year when you need it. So that way, when you have all the food coming in, it gives it. So you can have it in the spring when the drives are down.

B

Also, it allows you to purchase the items that you might not get donated like the baby food for our baby, pantries or senior food for the senior pantries. So we have a lot of different programs. Somebody that needs food needs everything and we try to make sure that we're covering all of the needs of the county. I know that Alice report came out last you well later this year and 41 percent of seniors are in Anne. Arundel County are struggling with their basic necessities, so we started senior pantries I, don't.

A

Ever seen that one here, that's marvelous, yeah.

B

But the funds that we get actually allow us to purchase those items as we need, based on the inventory to fill in the gaps of donations.

A

So those monetary donations are really important, oh that, yes, they really help, because then you can go through the whole entire year.

C

A

Then I remember that so so you definitely and I. Remember.

C

Seeing that that.

A

There was the the senior area and then you also have lots of families. You said you have the baby pantry.

C

A

So I'm assuming then that there's a nightly, remember this but didn't say: there's formula purchased in those kinds of yes along with what's donated, and then you also had correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you also had an area where you had items for babies as well. We.

B

Do basic necessities, whether it's car seats, cribs, we work with Healthy Start, okay and when they do site visits for new families or new parents, and they don't have the basic necessities. They'll actually come pick the items up, that the family needs. Okay,.

A

So you're sort of that they're the intermediary, but yeah you in the family that they need, which is really important.

B

We've really rely on our partnerships too, as being an indirect service to make sure that we can get all of the items that we have available to the people that need almost so we're always looking for new partners right.

A

That's the name of the game so and I think the county does a great job or.

B

They're making sure that all.

A

Those partnerships work together, so I'm trying to think back to it to the schools, because there's something that that the schools sort of have a little bit of a competition of sorts. And it's a private.

C

A

But can you tell us a little bit about that as in terms of harvest for the hungry, so.

B

Each school actually competes against each other to who can raise the most food or bring in the most pounds the most money and a lot of times. We we have a lot of the same schools that repeat every year, the food drive coordinators are very vigorous. The students are very passionate about the drive and they do a wonderful job, but we also have a lot of times new schools that just come out and hit a home run one year and they'll get a new coordinator, and it they do amazing right.

A

And I remember seeing something where you had some of the posters that you actually have.

C

A

In the in the food bank, so that was really that was really cool. So it's just some of the different ways that students sort of spearheaded and got excited about about this time of giving yes.

B

And we're always willing to come out and talk to the different schools. If the students want to learn more, we can send somebody down to their schools and speak with them and that's actually been very sick, accessible as well. You've.

A

Probably gotten a lot of really fun questions, so I, just I love the idea that the excitement and and the working together mm-hmm to build that, and so I was lucky enough last year to get to come to one of the ceremonies. So all this different students came yeah man that had participated with their. It was sort of with their teacher or sponsored.

C

A

And that kind of thing, so then they got to celebrate that success in here about the successes of others right.

B

And get recognized with an award for the school and the kids they'll get certificates they get to meet the superintendent, which is always fun, get.

A

The picture taken and your photo taken.

B

So I mean they deserve it, for everything that they're doing right.

A

Right, I think it's a really nice when you think about it, because it's in October in schools just really beginning I mean I'm. You know back-to-school nights and all that. So it's a really nice way to start yeah.

A

You know start with giving and start with that that sense of community so um I'm so glad that we have you as a partner and then and then it works. So well, it's really exciting.

A

So you talked a little bit and I want to make sure we didn't forget it because you talked about needing drivers but volunteers. We all interior drivers. We.

B

Do we rely heavily? We have one actual driver right now on staff, we're looking to hire a part-time driver coming up, but we rely on volunteer drivers to help bridge the gaps and then, during the this food drive, specifically we're trying to add ride-alongs people that can help with picking up all the food and expedite the pickups.

A

And well, that's I was just gonna say so what the drivers are doing, sometimes they're dropping off the boxes. We have these big boxes that the food goes yeah.

C

A

Then there's a certain pickup schedule and they need to go out to all those 100, some schools you get and in some cases it's probably.

B

Quite a lot yes, some schools will sometimes you'll have one pickup, because the school will fill up the entire truck others. You might be able to get several stops on, but having enough help is really important. Really.

A

Important, it's probably be there rewarding the volunteers as.

B

Well, they love it. The volunteers are wonderful. We have so many different volunteer opportunities from the office staff to helping out on the floor, sorting the food sorting produce that comes in so we're always looking for more help.

A

B

A

Unfortunately, we're out of time, so thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it and I'm so excited to work with you this coming month. So and thank you for joining us for another edition of parents corner until next time.

C

D

Cafe at Maryland Hall is a collaborative venture between Anne Arundel, County, Public, Schools and Maryland Hall for the creative arts. The culinary arts, students of the central Applied Technology sound, not only prepare the wonderful food items, they also manage and staff the cafe patrons. We enjoy a treat for a cup of coffee while also enjoying exhibits and performances from artists in the a ACPs PDA program and local art community. This amazing collaborative partnership gives the community an opportunity to experience awesome food and customer service in a rich, artful atmosphere here in the communities.

D

Art Center, our vibrant and exciting Marilyn.