The Social Action Committee for Racial Justice (SACRJ) is excited to announce that the Feed the Children and Elderly Initiative will be continued through local agencies and a new partnership with FarmersWagon.org. Eleven weeks ago SACRJ led a collaboration of dozens of organizations to distribute 12,600 breakfast bags and 500 Easter baskets to children, 3,300 bags of groceries to seniors (including over 1,000 chef-prepared meals), 1200 pizzas and 930 gallons of milk to the community. An additional 1,180 gallons of milk were shared with food distribution programs in Cecil and Queen Anne’s counties. This work was conducted by over 150 volunteers from throughout Kent County who logged in 5,000 hours of volunteer time. The initiative raised more than $60,000.00 in private donations and grants to support the purchase of food. “The community’s response to the COVID 19 crisis has been overwhelming”, said Paul Tue, co-Chair of SACRJ.
SACRJ leaders saw the need for fresh, nutritious food growing as unemployment rose and they began to plan with the Kent County Local Management Board to sustain the Feed the Children and Elderly Initiative beyond the immediate crisis. Through a new partnership with FarmersWagon.org and a phased approach the program will continue to help seniors and children in the community. Beginning immediately, the Kent County Public Schools will assume responsibility for providing meals to Kent County children at all 15 locations. “The school system has been a great partner in every way. We worked with it to expand its reach and KCPS staff members volunteered their time to work alongside volunteers at the four community food distribution sites,” said Arlene Lee. “This has made the transition very easy, with those same KCPS staff members taking over as site leaders where they have been from the beginning. Children and families will still see that familiar face when they pick up their meals,” she added.
Starting June 1st, the senior meal delivery will be coordinated by FarmersWagon.org led by Lyle Pinder. FarmersWagon.org is an online farm-to-door market that offers a fast and easy way to have products from local food producers delivered directly to your door. The volunteer based project started following the initial closure of the Chestertown Farmers Market in March 2020. The project’s mission is to establish a supply-chain between local food producers and their neighbors.
For the first 2 weeks of June, FarmersWagon.org will continue to work out of the Kent County Community Center which will be open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10-2 for volunteers to receive food donations and bag food for senior meals. The same health and safety protocols will be in place. Senior deliveries will be reduced to one day per week, with the same quantity and quality of food that was provided in twice weekly deliveries. On June 12th FarmersWagon.org will move the operation to a new location, with the same days and hours for volunteers and the same delivery schedule for seniors. SACRJ will support the transition by serving in an advisory capacity to FarmersWagon.org. SACRJ will also continue to manage the purchase of fresh food for Kent County seniors through the partnership with Sumner Hall, which will continue to accept donations and provide financial management services for the initiative. Larry Wilson, President, Sumner Hall, said “Sumner Hall is very proud to assist SACRJ fulfill its mission. We are here to support programs that lead to the betterment of our community during this crisis. Many thanks to SACRJ and all the volunteers and donors involved in this mission that showed love and caring for everyone.”
The next phase of this transition will include mobile food pantries open to anyone in the county, sponsored by the Kent County Local Management Board together with the local food pantries. “It is imperative to respond to the needs of Kent County residents during the COVID 19 pandemic. This starts with creating options for accessing food that work for children, families, and seniors despite economic hardship and transportation barriers,” said Rosie Ramsey Granillo, Director of the Kent County Local Management Board.
“The goal is to strengthen the food safety net in the county by creating partnerships among the providers, which will now include FarmersWagon.org and the senior meal program started by SACRJ,” said Philip Dutton, former co-Chair of SACRJ and volunteer coordinator, “Thanks to generous donors and volunteers, we have an opportunity to do this.”
To learn more about this initiative, to donate food or to volunteer to help with the food distribution effort, email [email protected]. To make a financial donation, go to Sumner Hall’s website, www.sumnerhall.org, and click on the link to SACRJ Feed the Children and Elderly Initiative. To learn more about FarmersWagon.org or support their mission to ensure that our neighbors have access to fresh food, please visit FarmersWagon.org or email [email protected].
The Social Action Committee for Racial Justice formed in 2017 and now has 200+ members from the Kent County community. We began after a series of Undoing Racism© workshops held on the Eastern Shore by the Peoples’ Institute for Survival and Beyond. The People’s Institute continues to guide our work through 8 anti-racism organizing principles that SACRJ aspires to practice. These include analyzing power, developing leadership, maintaining accountability, and sharing culture. SACRJ is a community effort to learn, grow, and take action against racism in Kent County Maryland. The focus is on identifying systemic racism and taking concrete steps to address inequities.
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