MARYLAND – The school year may be wrapping up but that doesn’t mean students who rely on those school lunches for a nutritional meal are out of luck.
Midshore Meals till Monday in Dorchester County and Adopt A Block in Wicomico County both work to distribute and deliver meals for students in their families during the school year and during the summer months.
“We have seen a very sharp increase in the number of families calling on us to help with food assistance,” said Meals Til Monday Director Leslie Bishop.
Bishop tells us her organization works by distributing the food to summer camp and summer school programs, as well as delivering the meals in the weeks in between for nearly 8,000 students. She says she expects even more parents to reach out, once they see how much inflation has driven up prices at the store.
“I anticipate once school ends and parents realize ‘oh my goodness we are not getting breakfast and lunch for our kids and there are no more Meals Til Monday in the school that’s when they will reach out and where we will be available to help,” Bishop said.
Mark Thompson of Adopt A Block says he expects a similar trend in Wicomico County, where he says his organization distributes to over 250 families a weak for a total of 3,500 dollars of food every two weeks.
“We do see an increase of families not just children its the whole family going hungry,” he said. He says, unlike families that are paying more for groceries due to record inflation, his organization as well as Bishop’s are partners with the Maryland foodbank. which according to Thompson is not passing on higher costs.
“Those numbers are staying pretty consistent,” Thompson said.
That’s why he says he wants families to reach out for help.
“If they need food please reach out do not let your insecurities or pride step in the way of getting free food that you need,” he said.
MidShore Meals Til Monday founder and director Leslie Bishop recognized as 2019 William Donald Shaefer Helping People Award for Dorchester County
Congratulations Leslie!!! The Meal til Monday family is very proud of your accomplishment and all your hard work
We are so proud of Leslie Valentine Bishop of MidShore Meals til Monday for being recognized as the 2019 William Donald Shaefer Helping People Award for Dorchester County! Leslie and her team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to provide meals for students of #DorchesterCounty.
MidShore Meals til Monday is working to end childhood hunger on Maryland’s Eastern Shore by providing weekend food for food-insecure children in Dorchester County. MtM sends home healthy, nutritious food for children at the end of each school week and during the summer months for breakfast, lunch and snacks to bridge the hunger gap for children without access to adequate food.
Programs currently provide more than 500 elementary, middle and high school students with weekend bags of food.Over 140 dedicated volunteers have distributed more than 100,000 meals since 2017.
Report by Mike Detmer (mdetmer@chespub.com) and published in The Dorchester Star.
MidShore Meals til Monday (MSMTM) volunteers served over 3,000 bags of food to children in the community in the month of March, according to MSMTM Director Leslie Bishop.
Between the two packing sites at Vienna Elementary School and the Salvation Army location on Rt. 50 in Cambridge, MSMTM volunteers logged almost 400 hours of work to served 3,424 bags of food to feed children on weekends.
At the VES site, 13 volunteers recorded a total of 34 hours, making 520 bags of food for 120 children, as well as providing food for seniors that volunteer.
At the Salvation Army packing facility, 60 individuals filled 137 different volunteer slots, with some individuals working more than one day for over 350 volunteer hours to make and distributed 2904 bags.
Bishop said, “I am so deeply grateful for the community support and for all our wonderful volunteers. What we have accomplished together is truly awe-inspiring and I am truly grateful for everyone.”
Bishop said volunteer Maple Elementary School site coordinator Rona Herman has been picking up 80 bags each week and taking them to the students’ homes every Wednesday. “I really admire her for doing this,” said Bishop. “She told me it gives her a chance to get to know the families—they’ll come out of their homes to talk to her from a safe distance.”
Bishop said that Meals til Monday has all needed volunteers at this time, but needs monetary donations. New Meals til Monday t-shirts are available for $25, or complimentary with a $125 donation. Donations can be made online or sent to our address: MidShore Meals til Monday, P.O. Box 1193, Cambridge, MD 21613.
Katie Zarrilli from WBOC Delmarva Life visited MtM in the new Salvation Army facility to report on the growth of our program over the last three years.
Midshore Meals til Monday volunteers pack food for Dorchester County students in their new space at the Salvation Army facility in Cambridge.
By Mike Detmer mdetmer@chespub.com
MidShore Meals til Monday continues helping to feed almost 500 Dorchester County children every weekend — now from a new space in the Salvation Army facility in Cambridge.
MidShore Meals til Monday, which first used their new base of operations on Thursday, Feb. 13, is a “backpack” program that sends home healthy, nutritious weekend food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, to supplement food given at home.
MidShore Meals til Monday began and then became a non-profit charity under the sponsorship of the MidShore Community Foundation in 2017. The program grew from originally serving 25 children at Vienna Elementary School, to now serving almost 500 from six public schools in Dorchester.
Founder and director Leslie Bishop said that the Eastern Shore branch of the Maryland Food Bank informed her this week that in two years of working together, Meals til Monday has given away 494,00 pounds of food to pre-K through 12th grade students in Dorchester. Each child receives a minimum of 12 items for each two day weekend and more for any extended time off from school, including cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, fresh fruit and fruit cups, non-perishable whole and chocolate milk, soups, and pudding. Children also receive a “special treat” with each bag like stickers, a marker or pencil, or small toy. Sometimes hygiene items including toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss are sent home, and in winter all children are given warm hats and gloves, and sometimes coats.”We have a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers that pack the meals and take them to the schools,” said Bishop, “but we’re always looking for more help.”
MidShore Meals til Monday was one of 17 organizations to receive a grant from The Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore at their annual grants and awards luncheon. The fund was founded in 2002 by a group of women looking to address the significant problems faced by women and girls in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties. MtM thanks the Women & Girls fund for their support in helping to feed children!
Representatives from the Mid-Shore Board of Realtors, Jimmie & Sook’s, and Dorchester County Meals til Monday, stand for a photo April 30. From left, H.L. Ward, Dorchester County Meals til Monday co-director of finance, Megan King, Jimmie & Sook’s chef, Amanda Bramble, Jimmie & Sook’s owner, Leslie Bishop, Meal’s til Monday co-founder, Will Bishop, Meals til Monday co-founder, and Dormaim Green, Mid-Shore Board of realtors president. (Photo by Jack Rodgers )
CAMBRIDGE — The Mid-Shore Board of Realtors held a fundraiser for Dorchester County Meals til Monday, a nonprofit organization focused on providing fare for food insecure children through the weekend, at Jimmie & Sook’s restaurant, April 17.
The groups raised a total of $3,750 for the organization through a buffet barbecue, while Jimmie & Sook’s contributed a dinner for two that was raffled. A percentage of the profits from the night, about $500 according to Jimmie & Sook’s Owner Amanda Bramble, were also contributed to Meals til Monday.
Nearly 40 volunteers of the program help raise money, which go to providing food for students and meals in backpacks at each school. About 32,000 residents live in Dorchester County, an estimated 1,000 make up the food insecure children. The program provides food for about 350 children.
Students are also sent home with a new toothbrush, floss and toothpaste. When the weather cools, winter apparel and other items are also included in the care packages.
Bramble said she wanted to help support the program from her own personal experiences. She said through her position, she had worked closely with people affected by food insecurity.
“So, those experiences I had stuck with me, and I never knew this program existed and they came to me and it was something I really thought my staff could jump on and really get passionate about,” Bramble said. “And they did, some of them donated their wages that day.”
Bramble said the community had been very impactful on the night, saying that one customer even wrote a $100 check on the spot to donate to Meals til Monday.
Dormaim Green, Mid-Shore Board of Realtors president, said she wanted to get involved because the issue was an important one to her.
“I was not aware of the situation, I was totally floored,” Green said. “I rush home like my son is my husband, to make sure when he comes home, there is food on that countertop for my child because, I remember when I was little coming home from school, you’re starving. … I feel awesome about the money we raised.”
Leslie Bishop, founder of Meals til Monday, said an important aspect of Meals til Monday is making sure children do not feel self conscious about accepting help. She said the group tries to include an “incentive,” like a toy, or stickers.
“We’re hoping the kids will say, ‘Wow this is cool,’” Bishop said.
H.L. Ward, co-director of finance for Meals til Monday, made a $2,600 contribution to the organization April 17, which will feed 10 children for a year at $5 per child, per weekend. Ward said the effort by the group was incredible.
“Somebody’s got to feed these kids,” Ward said. “I think it’s a great platform and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
The Mid-Shore Board of Realtors plans to hold more fundraisers for these school food programs in all three counties. In Talbot County, a program titled Carepacks aids food insecure children, while Food for Learning, a Caroline County program, does the same throughout the county.
Text (c) The Dorchester Star, the article can be found here
A huge thank you to Dave Harp and Sandy Cannon-Brown for doing an amazing job filming and editing this short video showcasing the hard work and dedication of the MtM volunteers to feed the children of Dorchester County.
USDA and the Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) have worked together for the past two years to launch the Museums4all initiative, which offers free and reduced admission to more than 300 museums throughout the U.S. for those who present a SNAP/EBT card.
These are the Maryland Museums participating in the program:
Last Updated: June 6, 2022 by Josh Poore
MidShore Meals til Monday on ABC Channel 47
Click Here for Article on WMDT
Organizations work to supply summer meals for students
MARYLAND – The school year may be wrapping up but that doesn’t mean students who rely on those school lunches for a nutritional meal are out of luck.
Midshore Meals till Monday in Dorchester County and Adopt A Block in Wicomico County both work to distribute and deliver meals for students in their families during the school year and during the summer months.
“We have seen a very sharp increase in the number of families calling on us to help with food assistance,” said Meals Til Monday Director Leslie Bishop.
Bishop tells us her organization works by distributing the food to summer camp and summer school programs, as well as delivering the meals in the weeks in between for nearly 8,000 students. She says she expects even more parents to reach out, once they see how much inflation has driven up prices at the store.
“I anticipate once school ends and parents realize ‘oh my goodness we are not getting breakfast and lunch for our kids and there are no more Meals Til Monday in the school that’s when they will reach out and where we will be available to help,” Bishop said.
Mark Thompson of Adopt A Block says he expects a similar trend in Wicomico County, where he says his organization distributes to over 250 families a weak for a total of 3,500 dollars of food every two weeks.
“We do see an increase of families not just children its the whole family going hungry,” he said. He says, unlike families that are paying more for groceries due to record inflation, his organization as well as Bishop’s are partners with the Maryland foodbank. which according to Thompson is not passing on higher costs.
“Those numbers are staying pretty consistent,” Thompson said.
That’s why he says he wants families to reach out for help.
“If they need food please reach out do not let your insecurities or pride step in the way of getting free food that you need,” he said.
Those who are looking for assistance can reach out to Midshore Meals Til Monday and Adopt a Block.
Last Updated: May 3, 2022 by Josh Poore
Flowers After Hours
A fundraiser for Meals til Monday
HARVEST DRIVE GREENHOUSES,
4646 EAST NEW MARKET-RHODESDALE RD, ENM, MD 21631
THURSDAY, MAY 5TH FROM 5:00-7:00 pm
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the Garden with margaritas (daisies, that is!)
SUPPORT MEALS TIL MONDAY AND BEAUTIFY YOUR GARDEN!
PURCHASE ANNUALS, HANGING BASKETS, CONTAINER PLANTS, SHRUBS, PERENNIALS AND MORE.
15% OF ALL PURCHASES WILL BE DONATED TO MTM!
COME OUT, ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF NATURE, AND HELP FEED OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!
QUESTIONS? CALL 443 225-6789
Last Updated: February 3, 2021 by Josh Poore
Leslie Bishop, 2019 William Donald Shaefer Helping People Award for Dorchester County
MidShore Meals Til Monday founder and director
Leslie Bishop
recognized as 2019 William Donald Shaefer Helping People Award
for Dorchester County
Congratulations Leslie!!!
The Meal til Monday family is very proud of your accomplishment and all your hard work
We are so proud of Leslie Valentine Bishop of MidShore Meals til Monday for being recognized as the 2019 William Donald Shaefer Helping People Award for Dorchester County! Leslie and her team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to provide meals for students of #DorchesterCounty.
MidShore Meals til Monday is working to end childhood hunger on Maryland’s Eastern Shore by providing weekend food for food-insecure children in Dorchester County. MtM sends home healthy, nutritious food for children at the end of each school week and during the summer months for breakfast, lunch and snacks to bridge the hunger gap for children without access to adequate food.
Programs currently provide more than 500 elementary, middle and high school students with weekend bags of food.Over 140 dedicated volunteers have distributed more than 100,000 meals since 2017.
Special Thanks to the board of MidShore Meals til Monday, our #Volunteers, The Maryland Food Bank, Dorchester County Public Schools, Mid-Shore Community Foundation and all of our donors for their continued support.
Last Updated: April 13, 2020 by admin
MidShore Meals til Monday Serves 3,424 March Meals
Report by Mike Detmer (mdetmer@chespub.com) and published in The Dorchester Star.
MidShore Meals til Monday (MSMTM) volunteers served over 3,000 bags of food to children in the community in the month of March, according to MSMTM Director Leslie Bishop.
Between the two packing sites at Vienna Elementary School and the Salvation Army location on Rt. 50 in Cambridge, MSMTM volunteers logged almost 400 hours of work to served 3,424 bags of food to feed children on weekends.
At the VES site, 13 volunteers recorded a total of 34 hours, making 520 bags of food for 120 children, as well as providing food for seniors that volunteer.
At the Salvation Army packing facility, 60 individuals filled 137 different volunteer slots, with some individuals working more than one day for over 350 volunteer hours to make and distributed 2904 bags.
Bishop said, “I am so deeply grateful for the community support and for all our wonderful volunteers. What we have accomplished together is truly awe-inspiring and I am truly grateful for everyone.”
Bishop said volunteer Maple Elementary School site coordinator Rona Herman has been picking up 80 bags each week and taking them to the students’ homes every Wednesday. “I really admire her for doing this,” said Bishop. “She told me it gives her a chance to get to know the families—they’ll come out of their homes to talk to her from a safe distance.”
Bishop said that Meals til Monday has all needed volunteers at this time, but needs monetary donations. New Meals til Monday t-shirts are available for $25, or complimentary with a $125 donation. Donations can be made online or sent to our address: MidShore Meals til Monday, P.O. Box 1193, Cambridge, MD 21613.
To find out more about MidShore Meals til Monday, call 443-225-6789, email leslie@midshoremealstilmonday.com.
Posted: March 1, 2020 by admin
MtM on WBOC Delmarva Life
Katie Zarrilli from WBOC Delmarva Life visited MtM in the new Salvation Army facility to report on the growth of our program over the last three years.
Posted: February 25, 2020 by admin
Midshore Meals til Monday Volunteers Pack Nearly Half A Million Pounds of Food!
By Mike Detmer mdetmer@chespub.com
MidShore Meals til Monday continues helping to feed almost 500 Dorchester County children every weekend — now from a new space in the Salvation Army facility in Cambridge.
MidShore Meals til Monday, which first used their new base of operations on Thursday, Feb. 13, is a “backpack” program that sends home healthy, nutritious weekend food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, to supplement food given at home.
MidShore Meals til Monday began and then became a non-profit charity under the sponsorship of the MidShore Community Foundation in 2017. The program grew from originally serving 25 children at Vienna Elementary School, to now serving almost 500 from six public schools in Dorchester.
Founder and director Leslie Bishop said that the Eastern Shore branch of the Maryland Food Bank informed her this week that in two years of working together, Meals til Monday has given away 494,00 pounds of food to pre-K through 12th grade students in Dorchester. Each child receives a minimum of 12 items for each two day weekend and more for any extended time off from school, including cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, fresh fruit and fruit cups, non-perishable whole and chocolate milk, soups, and pudding. Children also receive a “special treat” with each bag like stickers, a marker or pencil, or small toy. Sometimes hygiene items including toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss are sent home, and in winter all children are given warm hats and gloves, and sometimes coats.”We have a wonderful group of dedicated volunteers that pack the meals and take them to the schools,” said Bishop, “but we’re always looking for more help.”
Text and photograph from The Dorchester Star
Posted: June 3, 2019 by admin
MtM Included in Women & Girls Fund of Mid-Shore Annual Grants and Awards Luncheon
MidShore Meals til Monday was one of 17 organizations to receive a grant from The Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore at their annual grants and awards luncheon. The fund was founded in 2002 by a group of women looking to address the significant problems faced by women and girls in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties. MtM thanks the Women & Girls fund for their support in helping to feed children!
More information can be found here.
Last Updated: June 3, 2019 by admin
MSBR Raises Money for MtM!
CAMBRIDGE — The Mid-Shore Board of Realtors held a fundraiser for Dorchester County Meals til Monday, a nonprofit organization focused on providing fare for food insecure children through the weekend, at Jimmie & Sook’s restaurant, April 17.
The groups raised a total of $3,750 for the organization through a buffet barbecue, while Jimmie & Sook’s contributed a dinner for two that was raffled. A percentage of the profits from the night, about $500 according to Jimmie & Sook’s Owner Amanda Bramble, were also contributed to Meals til Monday.
Nearly 40 volunteers of the program help raise money, which go to providing food for students and meals in backpacks at each school. About 32,000 residents live in Dorchester County, an estimated 1,000 make up the food insecure children. The program provides food for about 350 children.
Students are also sent home with a new toothbrush, floss and toothpaste. When the weather cools, winter apparel and other items are also included in the care packages.
Bramble said she wanted to help support the program from her own personal experiences. She said through her position, she had worked closely with people affected by food insecurity.
“So, those experiences I had stuck with me, and I never knew this program existed and they came to me and it was something I really thought my staff could jump on and really get passionate about,” Bramble said. “And they did, some of them donated their wages that day.”
Bramble said the community had been very impactful on the night, saying that one customer even wrote a $100 check on the spot to donate to Meals til Monday.
Dormaim Green, Mid-Shore Board of Realtors president, said she wanted to get involved because the issue was an important one to her.
“I was not aware of the situation, I was totally floored,” Green said. “I rush home like my son is my husband, to make sure when he comes home, there is food on that countertop for my child because, I remember when I was little coming home from school, you’re starving. … I feel awesome about the money we raised.”
Leslie Bishop, founder of Meals til Monday, said an important aspect of Meals til Monday is making sure children do not feel self conscious about accepting help. She said the group tries to include an “incentive,” like a toy, or stickers.
“We’re hoping the kids will say, ‘Wow this is cool,’” Bishop said.
H.L. Ward, co-director of finance for Meals til Monday, made a $2,600 contribution to the organization April 17, which will feed 10 children for a year at $5 per child, per weekend. Ward said the effort by the group was incredible.
“Somebody’s got to feed these kids,” Ward said. “I think it’s a great platform and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
The Mid-Shore Board of Realtors plans to hold more fundraisers for these school food programs in all three counties. In Talbot County, a program titled Carepacks aids food insecure children, while Food for Learning, a Caroline County program, does the same throughout the county.
Text (c) The Dorchester Star, the article can be found here
Posted: April 9, 2019 by admin
New MidShore Meals til Monday Video
A huge thank you to Dave Harp and Sandy Cannon-Brown for doing an amazing job filming and editing this short video showcasing the hard work and dedication of the MtM volunteers to feed the children of Dorchester County.
Posted: April 9, 2019 by admin
Free or Reduced Museum Entry to Those who Present a SNAP/EBT Card
Museums for All
USDA and the Office of Museum Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) have worked together for the past two years to launch the Museums4all initiative, which offers free and reduced admission to more than 300 museums throughout the U.S. for those who present a SNAP/EBT card.
These are the Maryland Museums participating in the program:
Miller House Museum
135 W. Washington St.
Hagerstown, Maryland 21740
301-797-8782
Website
Directions
Jewish Museum of Maryland
15 Lloyd Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
410-732-6400
Website
Directions
Chesapeake Children’s Museum
25 Silopanna Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21403
410-990-1993
Website
Directions
Historic St. Mary’s City
18751 Hogaboom Ln
St. Marys City, Maryland 20686 United States
(240) 895-4990
Website
Directions
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
213 North Talbot Street
St. Michaels, Maryland 21663
410-745-2916
Website
Directions