Find food assistance near you
With SNAP benefits in Maryland facing uncertainty due to the federal shutdown, many families are wondering how they’ll put food on the table.
At Health Care for the Homeless, we know that having enough food to eat is crucial to a person's health and healing. As Therapist Case Manager Deborah Woolford, LMSW, puts it, "People can’t listen when they are hungry.”
Check out this list of food assistance resources available right now.
Quick Facts
- An estimated 680,000 Marylanders, including 270,000 children, rely on SNAP benefits to eat
- Governor Wes Moore allocated $10 million toward food pantries across the state and $62 million directly to SNAP recipients
- Maryland Matters reports that 30,000 Marylanders per day have seen their SNAP benefits lapse since 11/4
Food Resources at Health Care for the Homeless
As clients of Health Care for the Homeless, you can get:
- Support applying for SNAP benefits
- Getting and staying healthy requires more than just primary medical care. Our staff can identify what benefits clients are eligible to receive and help them navigate the application process.
- West Baltimore Clinic pantry
- "Sometimes we ask if there’s a need. Other times, clients simply share, 'I’m hungry," says West Baltimore Practice Manager Alkema Jackson. "We’re in the business of touching lives, and sometimes, that means filling a belly too."
- Donate from our West Baltimore wishlist
- Fallsway Clinic emergency food pantry
- Each month, we assemble and distribute 100 bags of non-perishable food for clients who report no access to food during a visit. In order to be useful to clients without access to refrigeration or kitchens, these packets filled with ready-to-eat items that require no cooking.
- Donate from our Essential Items wishlist
- Weekend Backpacks partnership
- With the support of Weekend Backpacks, we distribute meal kits to children and families through our Pediatric Clinic.
- Street survival kits
Find Food Near You
- Maryland Food Bank food finder
- 211 Maryland
- Apply for SNAP and other benefits online
- Anyone applying for SNAP will receive their benefit retro-active to their application date, even if funding isn't immediately available.
- Find a local agency to apply for WIC (the Women, Infants, and Children Program)
Baltimore City Resources
- City of Baltimore resource list
- Bmore Community Fridge Network (map of free fridges and pet pantries)
- The Baltimore Farmers' Market, Sundays, 7AM-12PM
- Through Maryland Market Money, the Baltimore Farmers’ Market offers a match of up to $20 to customers using federal nutrition benefits to purchase produce and/or SNAP-authorized foods.
Free Thanksgiving Turkeys and Meals
- Click for information about upcoming Thanksgiving events and turkey giveaways:
- Goodwill's Thanksgiving Dinner & Resource Fair, 11/26 at the Baltimore Convention Center
- Mt Zion United Methodist Church's Turkey Giveaway, 11/24 at 3050 Liberty Heights Ave
- Bon Secours Community Resource Center's Turkey Giveaway, 11/18 at 31 S. Payson St
- Project Feast's Thanksgiving meal, 11/27 at 1301 McCulloh St
More Recent News
After a year of serving as Practice Manager of West Baltimore, Alkema Jackson is moving into the new role of Director of Practice Operations, Community Sites! She joined Health Care for the Homeless in 2022 as the Client Access Project Coordinator, collaborating across departments to help more people connect to agency services, and in 2023, she received a Core Value Award for Hope. Read on to learn more about Alkema’s approach to this new position…
Meet Christana Greene, our new Director of Compliance! With more than five years in the compliance field—most recently as Senior Quality and Patient Safety Specialist at GBMC Healthcare—Chrissy brings frontline insight to the role. She began her career as a medical assistant, gaining firsthand experience in what it takes to keep care safe and operations running smoothly. In her new role, Chrissy is focused on building a compliance culture grounded in safety, integrity and accountability. Read on to learn more about Chrissy...
Baltimore gets dangerously cold, and too many of our neighbors are out there.Here are three simple things you can do to make a difference in someone’s life this winter.
Meet Lolita Wright, a mother and caregiver. Lolita is never leaving Baltimore. She shares her parents' love of music and determination.
