Md. Food Bank In Need Of Volunteers After Massive Donation
ARBUTUS, Md. (WJZ) -- More food than they can handle. That's the challenge the Maryland Food Bank faces after a major donation.
As Gigi Barnett explains, the agency is in dire need of helping hands.
When a string of Wegmans superstores opened their doors in Maryland last year, the grocery chain soon became a major supplier to the Maryland Food Bank. And at the agency's Arbutus warehouse, the food keeps coming in.
"Our donated food has increased by 400 percent over last year, a huge increase," said Jill Kushner, food bank volunteer director.
And Kushner says that's exactly what the food bank wants, but she says there aren't enough volunteers to handle it all.
"The people who sort and pack up this donated food that we're speaking of today is a job only done by volunteers. So if we don't have volunteers here to help sort and pack it up, it does us no good," she said.
The food bank needs volunteers to work the conveyor belt. Once the food is packed, it can then head to kitchens around the state.
"Fifteen or more people to run that belt and that's the way we can most efficiently pack up that food," said Kushner.
Right now, more than 300,000 pounds need to be sorted. And the food bank fears that without the extra hands, the gift of food will soon become a waste.
"It does no good for us sitting here. Our whole goal is to get the food out to the community and to the community that really needs it," said Kushner.
If you'd like to volunteer at the Maryland Food Bank, the agency is looking for 15-to-25 volunteers who can come in Monday through Friday. The number is 410-737-8282.
