March is National Nutrition Month!

National Nutrition Month is an annual nationwide campaign that invites people to make informed food choices and develop health eating and exercise habits.

Families, children, and seniors living with food insecurity are less likely to have access to healthy and fresh food, increasing the probability of nutrition-related health issues. We are committed to providing healthy and nutritious food for our neighbors every day, and throughout March, the food bank focuses attention on nutrition education.

In partnership with Annapolis Pediatrics

Roughly 45 percent of the food AACFB distributes is donated, and locally supported food drives are a large part of the 1.5 million pounds of donated food we distribute to our neighbors in need.

In the spirit of Nutrition Month, we are asking our community to help us provide healthier shelf-stable food items. We are looking for more items that are low in sodium and sugar, high in fiber, and minimally processed (limited thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and added sugars).

During the month of March, drop off your healthy-focused shelf-stable foods at any Annapolis Pediatrics location during business hours.

Bring your neighborhood, workplace, civic group, or congregation together to host a healthy food drive. Our Thrive to Drive guide includes tips for hosting a healthy food drive and ideal donations for a food drive focused on nutritious food. Be sure to register your drive to let the food bank know about your support!

Hear the Crunch is Maryland Hunger Solution’s annual campaign held during National School Breakfast Week to highlight the importance of the school breakfast program in ensuring that ALL students start the day off with the necessary nutrition to learn and grow.

Please join Maryland Hunger Solutions and the Anne Arundel County Food Bank on March 6 to help show your support for school breakfast! Anyone can participate by following these 5 simple steps:

1. Grab an apple (No apples? Use one of our virtual apple screen backgrounds!)
2. Take a photo, video, or screenshot “crunching” into your apple
3. Post your photo or video to social media on March 6 with #HeartheCrunch, and be sure to tag @MarylandHungerSolutions and @aafoodbank on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter.)
4. Include a message of gratitude to the incredible school nutrition staff in your district and across the state, and share why increasing access to healthy school meals is essential to you and your community.
5. Invite your network to do the same!

CAVA, a Mediterranean fast casual restaurant with lots of healthy options, is opening a new location at 2515 Evergreen Road in Gambrills (Waugh Chapel Towne Centre near the Mission BBQ). The day before Friday’s grand opening, CAVA will host a Community Day preview event in partnership with the food bank at which registrants will receive a free delicious meal. CAVA will accept guests’ donations to the food bank and match donations up to $1,000. Click the button below to register. (The red pepper hummus is really good…)

To close out 2024 Nutrition Month, Rams Head Roadhouse is hosting a “Give Back Night” on Thursday, March 28.  Twenty percent of all food sales (minus taxes and gratuities) purchased between 4 pm and 8 pm will be donated to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. The donation applies to carry-out and online ordering as well. Simply show the flier to the left (printed or from your phone) to let your server know you are participating in the Give Back Night.

Family-owned and operated since 1989, Rams Head Roadhouse serves a variety of local favorites, including burgers, tacos, flatbreads, and steaks. Nine rotating taps feature locally brewed beers.

Rams Head Roadhouse is located at 1773 Generals Highway.

I Don’t Know

I don’t know how to help, I’m only a bit over 10 right now,

But oohhh, the poor and the neglected of the world.

Look at these eyes staring wide into the sky, with no tears left to cry.

All of the food going in the can and down the drain, these people suffer in true pain.

Some people have futures as bright as the sun, these people have zero, slash, none.

Practically nothing to their name, so if you don’t try to help, who would we have to blame?

——————————— PONDER ———————————-

So many medical problems, statisticians can’t keep a true tally,

Better nutrition and education would not seem so shabby.

The people in poverty have no convenience, life so hard and real,

These people are so weak, they even can’t properly heal.

It would make their world if you do your best to stop their suffering,

They might even live a better life for themselves, and others, with deeper meaning.

About the Author
My name is Andrew Skirpan. I am 10 years old and in the 5th grade. My hobbies are baseball, piano, math, chess, and coding. I am a high academic student and in a lot of organizations and clubs both in and out of school.

“I Don’t Know” by Andrew Skirpan is from the Poetry X Hunger website. ​Poetry X Hunger is an informal initiative focused on intentionally inspiring poetry that addresses the cause of preventing and eliminating hunger. The overall approach is to augment the traditionally cited, tragic hunger statistics with heartfelt, powerful poetry as an innovative way of reaching the public and public policy decision makers.

Thank you to our Nutrition Month sponsor Annapolis Pediatrics.