Maryland Food Bank
The Maryland Food Bank (MFB) School Food Pantry Program operates food pantries in schools that serve large populations of families living in poverty. MFB has operated the program since 2005, providing easy access to supplemental food for families facing food insecurity. During the current school year, when most schools are closed, MFB has shifted to a “grab and go” food distribution model, where families can pick up bags of food at participating schools on a monthly basis. The program has also greatly increased the amount of food provided to families during the pandemic, distributing more than twice as much food during the first two quarters of FY 2021 compared to the same period in FY 2020. This grant supports MFB’s Baltimore City School Food Pantry Program.
Johns Hopkins University
Vision for Baltimore is an innovative, citywide partnership designed to improve vision screening and follow up care for Baltimore City public school students. The program provides expanded school-based vision screenings, eye exams and glasses, simplifying the process of obtaining vision care and increasing the likelihood that students who need glasses will get them. Partners in Vision for Baltimore include the Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore City Public School System, Johns Hopkins University, and Vision to Learn, a national nonprofit organization that operates mobile school vision treatment programs throughout the country. This grant supports Vision for Baltimore’s operations.
Black Girls Cook, Fiscally Sponsored by Bmore Empowered, Inc.
Black Girls Cook aims to teach girls of color, how to grow, buy, and prepare healthy and affordable food. In addition to offering cooking and edible gardening programs, Black Girls Cook guest instructors are role models of different career possibilities in the food and hospitality industry. This grant is for general operating support.
Baltimore Child Abuse Center, Inc.
Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC) provides comprehensive services for children who have expereienced the trauma of sexual abuse, and their family members. This grant will support construction of a new Center for Hope, located next to the Pimlico race course in Northwest Baltimore, that will house BCAC and several other violence prevention and intervention programs affiliated with the LifeBridge Health System.
Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Inc.
In 2019, Del. Lorig Charkoudian (District 20) introduced legislation in the Maryland General Assembly to limit hospital debt lawsuits for patients owing less than $5000, along with other medical debt lawsuit reforms. The bill did not pass in the abridged session, in part due to concerns that a prohibition may result in unintended consequences for Maryland’s cost-of-care model.
With this grant support, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition will oversee an econometric research study by health economists at Boston University to calculate the likely effects of a cap on hospital lawsuits at different thresholds. The study’s findings will inform future legislation on medical debt lawsuits in Maryland.