WJZ, Orioles And MASN Food Drive Stocks Bank Shelves At Critical Time

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Another WJZ, Orioles and MASN food drive is in the books.

It was a tough weekend for the O's on the field, but thanks to thousands of fans, shelves at Maryland food banks will be stocked.

As part of WJZ's Continuing Community Commitment, members of the news team were out in force collecting dollars and donations at Camden Yards.

"This food and funds drive really allows us to increase the awareness of food insecurity in the state of Maryland," says Carmen Del Guercio, CEO of the Maryland Food Bank.

Food bank officials say donations will help one in nine Marylanders suffering from food insecurity, or about 685,000 people.

That number alone would be enough to sell out 15 straight games at Camden Yards.

In 2016, the food bank served 41 million meals, which breaks down to about 112,000 every single day.

Food bank officials say the donations from the WJZ, Orioles and MASN food drive come at a critical time of the year.

"It is a year-round problem but our demand does go up in the summer months," according to Del Guercio.

The food bank says they should know exact total donated this weekend sometime later this week. Last year, 3,000 pound of food and $27,000 were donated.

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