Local Groups Working to Eliminate Food Insecurity

By The Joint Information Center Team

Garrett County Community Action is the non-profit that has been appointed to manage all local contributions related to COVID-19 such as homemade face coverings, food assistance, volunteer sign-ups, and cash donations.

Community Action has announced nonperishable food will be collected at the following additional locations:

• Accident Volunteer Fire Department:
  • June 24^th 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department:
  • June 26th 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
• Southern Rescue Squad:
  • June 27th 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

A volunteer portal at www.garretthealth.org/community has been designed by the Health Department to aid Community Action with the critical digital infrastructure to coordinate offers of help as well as the distribution of donations.

The portal has a list of the specific foods requested based on Ready.gov/food recommendations for stocking a three-day supply of non-perishable items such as canned food, dry mixes and staples not requiring refrigeration.

Also, to learn more about how our community is working together to address food insecurities, Shelley Argabrite, Health Strategist for Garrett County is inviting you to join the discussion this Thursday beginning at 8:00 a.m. by participating in a virtual meeting by phone or computer.

“We each have our own ideas about what it means to be healthy, what we feel the biggest issues are for ourselves, and the community we live in,” Argabrite said. ”Health cannot be adequately discussed without acknowledging that it is fundamentally affected by our income and food insecurities continues to be an issue that demands engaged involvement with dedicated partners. This month during the Health Planning Council we will be hearing from agencies and volunteers that make a direct contribution to addressing food insecurities in Garrett County.”  

This interagency coalition is hosted by the Garrett County Health Department and is held on the fourth Thursday of every month.  If you miss this one you can check out the details on mygarrettcounty.com by visiting the action group called Health Planning Council.   

Join Thursday’s Health Planning Council meeting on June 25, 2020, from 8:00am to 9:30am via Google meet meet.google.com/gyx-yavi-duq or by phone at 1-321-442-0239 (PIN: 961134551).

For those who are not online, any offer of support can be initiated by contacting Courtni Helmick, Family Self-Sufficiency Manager at Community Action, by calling 301-334-9431 ext. 6143.