The Maryland Food Bank recently celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting for its 6,000- square-foot community kitchen. The space includes a culinary kitchen, classroom space and offices.
The community kitchen will take food donated from caterers, hotels and other retail sources and turn it into family-style, prepared meals for the Maryland Food Bank’s network partners of soup kitchens, food pantries and feeding programs. The project has received funding support from Baltimore City, the State of Maryland, McCormick & Company, Gill-Simpson, The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation and the Charles T. Bauer Foundation.
Maryland Food Bank CEO Deborah Flateman said the the kitchen will help the food bank reach its ultimate goal – ending hunger.
“The community kitchen is one more step in the direction of eliminating hunger and ensuring that no Maryland man, woman, child or senior citizen ever has to wonder where they will get their next meal,” Flateman said in a press statement. “I am so proud to be a part of this organization that absolutely changes lives for the better, that works to make sure no one is forgotten and that brings together a network of people to provide one of humanity’s most basic needs: the need for food.”
Speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony included: Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith, Maryland Del. Steven DeBoy and Del. James Malone, Andrew Hartman from the family of Charles T. Bauer, E. Christopher Odell of Gill-Simpson and Greg Sileo, Director of Community Services for Baltimore Community Action Program.
The community kitchen is projected to provide more than 1 million meals for families each year.