"We love because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19
OUR SERVICES + COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Food Distribution
The HOPE Center’s goal is to ensure that all people in our community and surrounding areas, who are in immediate need, are not food deprived. This is accomplished by collecting food and non-food items for distribution through our network of programs that serve our community.
Those receiving these items are very low to low-income base individuals (including seniors and veterans) and families, who need help to put food on their table. Nearly half of those served by our programs are children and seniors. The HOPE Center operates a facility where we store donated or rescued food and non-food items for distribution. The program actively solicits and collects food from local food retailers and wholesalers.
In addition, as the cost of basic necessities continues to rise, The HOPE Center's "Hands for HOPE" and "Beyond Blessings" ministries provide supplemental food and other necessities, to children, individuals, and families in Harford County who lack enough food in their homes and are struggling to keep up.
THE EMERSON LAW
Each year, 14 billion pounds of food are sent to landfills. Meanwhile, nearly 30 million Americans, including 12 million children, are at risk of hunger. Potential donors most often cite fear of liability as to the reason they refuse to donate to feeding programs. Before the passage of the national law, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had adopted laws protecting donors. Yet, differences in language and applicability between states often discouraged national and regional companies from donating. With the national law in place, regional and national donors have the uniform language that protects them from civil and criminal liability. Read More
Hands for HOPE
As the cost of basic necessities continues to rise, individuals and families in Harford County are struggling to keep up. The situation is particularly difficult for seniors, many of whom have limited resources and live on a fixed income.
"Hands for HOPE" provides supplemental food and other necessities, such as laundry detergent and paper goods, to seniors who lack enough food in their homes through the end of the month. We tailor this food to the wants and needs of seniors living in senior housing communities in Abingdon, Aberdeen, and Bel Air, many of whom live alone.
We are honored to serve our elderly neighbors with the food and hope they need.
If you would like to be a part of the monthly food giveaway events for our seniors, please contact Robert at info@thehopecenterofmd.com.
BEYOND Blessings
Making a Difference
Childhood hunger is a reality in Harford County, Maryland. Weekend meal programs help fill the hunger gap that many schoolchildren experience when they are not in school.
Through our Beyond Blessings program, The HOPE Center of Maryland provides students in local high-poverty public schools with bags of kid-friendly, nutritious food to sustain them on weekends when free school meals are not available.
Beyond Blessings is designed for elementary and middle school students. The bags are delivered to the schools where social workers distribute them to the students with the highest need.
For the current school year, The HOPE Center of Maryland will provide 140-weekend meal bags to at-risk children attending Bakerfield and Deerfield Elementary Schools and Edgewood Middle School. That comes to 34,320 meals provided.
We are reaching out to the community for bag sponsors and food collection drives on behalf of The HOPE Center. Your help is needed to sustain and expand this vital program!
For additional information please contact Robert at robert@thehopecenterofmd.com
Be a Bag Sponsor:
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1 Bag Cost $11.00
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1 Month (4 Bags) Cost $44.00
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3 Months (12 Bags) Cost $132.00
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1 School Year (44 Bags) Cost $484.00
Food Collection Items:
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Fruit, Jello, and Pudding cups
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Instant oatmeal packs
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Mini cereal boxes
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Capri-Sun juice pouches (or similar)
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Chicken salad cracker kits
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Cheese/peanut butter crackers
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Pop Tarts
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Microwaveable mac & cheese, Rice-a-Roni, or mashed potatoes
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GoGo Squeeze applesauce pouches
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Microwaveable Chef Boyardee meals
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Chewy, cereal, or granola bars
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Individual packs of Cheez-Its, cookies, or fruit gummy snacks
RESOURCES FOOD PANTRIES
We have compiled the following community resource list of services available in the
Harford County, Maryland area.
Bel Air United Methodist Church
21 Linwood Ave. Bel Air, MD 21014
410-838-5181 | belairumc.org
*Check the website to verify dates and information. Groceries are distributed once a month (Second Saturday of the month) from 9:00 AM to Noon.
Calvary Baptist Church
206 Courtland Place Bel Air, MD 21014
410-838-6080 | www.calvarybelair.com
*Tuesday - Thursday 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
Photo ID required.
Community Action Agency
1321 Woodbridge Station Way Suite B Edgewood, MD 21040
Food Pantry: 410-612-9899 | harfordcaa.org
*Monday - Thursday 9:00AM to Noon and 1:00PM to 4:00PM Friday - 8:30AM to Noon
Grace United Methodist Church
110 W. Bel Air Avenue Aberdeen, MD 21001
410-272-0909 | www.graceumcchurch.org
*Wednesday, 5:00 to 6:00 PM – Photo ID required.
Grace Place
St. John's Episcopal Church
114 Union Avenue Havre de Grace, MD 21078
410-939-2107
*Non-perishable groceries available
Mason-Dixon Community Services
708 Highland Rd. Street, MD 21154
410-452-9025 | www.mason-dixon.org
*Monday - Friday 9:00 AM to Noon
Meals on Wheels
45 N. Main Street Suite D Bel Air, MD 21014
410-838-0013 | www.mealsonwheelsmd.org
*Services provide the delivery of nutritious meals to homebound persons of any age or economic status who are unable to shop or prepare meals for themselves.
Oak Grove Baptist Church
2106 E. Churchville Rd. Bel Air, MD 21015-4908
410-838-9898 | www.oakgrovebaptist.com
*Every 3rd Saturday of the month from
10:00 to 11:00 AM
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
1450 Abingdon Road Abingdon, MD 21009
410-676-5119 | www.stfrancisabingdon.org
*Thursday, 5:30 – 6:30 PM, Saturday, 9:00 – 10:00 AM
St. Joan of Arc Church
222 S. Law St. Aberdeen, MD 21001
410-272-4535 | https://sjaparish.org/
*Wednesdays and Saturdays 9:30 - 11 AM
St. Matthew Lutheran Church
1200 Churchville, Rd. Bel Air, MD 21014
410-838-3178 | www.smlc.org
*Thursday 6:00 to 7:30 PM and Friday
10:30AM to Noon
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
1100 Philadelphia Road Aberdeen, MD 21001
410-679-4000 | www.trinityjoppa.org
*Tuesday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM & Thursday, 3:30 – 5:00 PM