The Westminster Rescue Mission, the largest food re-distributor in Carroll County, received a $22,000 state grant this month for its food distribution program.
The funding was awarded from the Maryland Department of Agriculture as part of the Maryland Food and Agricultural Resiliency Mechanism Grant Program. Launched in 2023, the grant program is intended to help Marylanders who face food insecurity to access healthy food while providing a market for farmers to sell their products.
The funding was announced by the Maryland Department of Agriculture on March 15, and is part of $200,000 in grants that was awarded to eight nonprofits.
The Westminster Rescue Mission’s portion will go toward the launch of its Harvesting Hope: Nourishing Communities project, which will supplement food it distributes to food pantries and soup kitchens in Carroll County, with fresh, healthy, and nutritious alternatives.
The food will come from Chesapeake Farm to Table, which operates as a farmer-owned and farmer-managed collective of farms in the Chesapeake region. They deliver meat, cheese, milk, seasonal fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs, honey, eggs and grains to Baltimore and its surrounding areas.
“We are thrilled to receive this funding from the Maryland Department of Agriculture,” Stephanie Halley, the Westminster Rescue Mission’s chief executive officer stated in a March 20 news release. “The Harvesting Hope project will enable us to significantly expand our efforts to combat food insecurity in Carroll County and ensure that our community members have access to fresh, healthy, and nutritious foods, all while supporting nearby farms.”
The rescue mission plans to purchase, transport, process and store the food at its facility on Lucabaugh Mill Road in Westminster.
It will then distribute it to organizations that operate food pantries and soup kitchens serving the Carroll County community.
“This initiative will allow the mission to select foods based on the needs of the community, rather than solely relying on donations, which do not always fulfill the needs of the community,” the news release states.
Halley stated in an email Friday that the program is slated to start next month.
The Westminster Rescue Mission is a nonprofit that does not turn away anyone in need of food or addiction services.
In 2023, the organization’s Mission Food Program distributed 1,040,827 pounds of food to pantries and soup kitchens in the county, Halley said, and helps, on average, 4,800 individuals each month.
The food program shares many of its operational costs with the rescue mission’s Addiction Healing Center, Halley said. Roughly $500,000 goes directly into operating the Mission Food Program, she said.
The organization receives its funding and financial help through individual donations, group donations, churches and businesses in the county. Grant funding has also come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Maryland Food Bank, United Way of Central Maryland and the Kahlert Foundation.
