The University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, in Glen Burnie, will work with Caring Cupboard to provide standard pantry items to residents in select Anne Arundel County neighborhoods with limited access to grocery stores and healthy food options.

The collaboration is made possible in part from a $50,000 grant awarded by the University of Maryland Medical System to organizations committed to addressing food insecurity in Maryland. Food insecurity is becoming more prominent in the state. In 2020, approximately 48,000 Anne Arundel County residents, including 11,400 children, were food insecure, according to Feeding America.

The Caring Cupboard plans to use the funds awarded by UMMS to renovate a school bus and turn it into a mobile grocery store that will visit Anne Arundel County neighborhoods that have limited transportation options and minimal access to grocery stores. The bus will have standard food items, such as dried pasta, tomato sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, eggs and bread for residents to take at no cost. 
Members from UM BWMC’s Community Outreach Team will collaborate with Caring Cupboard to identify in-need neighborhoods for the mobile grocery store to visit.