BALTIMORE

–
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin and
U.S. Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, Elijah Cummings and
John Sarbanes (all D-MD) today presented the Maryland Food Bank with a check for $492,000 to help the non-profit organization feed the growing number of Marylanders who are hungry.
 The funding for the Maryland Food Bank was included in the omnibus appropriations bill that was enacted into law in December 2009.

The Maryland Food Bank provides meals to approximately 44,600 Marylanders a week and 261,000 people a year.
  Since the economic downturn began in 2008, the Maryland Food Bank has reported a 30 to 50 percent increase in the demand for food.
  Many of its clients work full time and were considered middle class before the recession.
 

“In this recession, too many Marylanders have been faced with the difficult decision of whether to buy food or pay other bills such as rent, heat or health care,” said
Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Budget Committee
.
  “The Maryland Food Bank provides a valuable service in helping to feed our state’s hungry, and I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need to carry out their mission.”

“This funding couldn’t have come at a better time – when the fastest-growing segment of those in need is people who work full-time and were considered middle-class before the economic recession,”
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger said. “The Maryland Food Bank has been helping

Maryland
families get back on their feet for decades and this funding will now help them put a new roof over their own heads. I am proud to be a part of Team
Maryland
and will continue to fight to ensure Marylanders have the resources they need to weather this financial storm.”

“The mission of the Maryland Food Bank is one of mercy,” said
Congressman Cummings. “That our land of plenty has citizens who go hungry is a national embarrassment. The Maryland Food Bank has done incredible work to fix this problem, and I am proud to help it continue that mission, in the words of its motto,
until hunger ends.”

“In these difficult economic times, the Maryland Food Bank is playing a critical role providing food for the hungry,” said
Congressman Sarbanes. “The Maryland Food Bank has been a lifeline for struggling families who didn’t know where their next meal was going to come from.”

The Maryland Food Bank, an affiliate of 






Feeding America
, was founded in 1979 to coordinate the procurement and distribution of food donations from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and government agencies to organizations providing free food to the state's hungry

.
 

It provides nearly 14 million pounds of food annually to 1,000 Network Partners — including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, low-income day care centers, after-school programs, senior centers, rehabilitation centers, and other feeding programs.