Crownsville, MD – Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced plans today to provide $500,000 in emergency funds to the Anne Arundel County Food Bank to fund food distributions for residents impacted by the federal government shutdown and the delay of SNAP benefits.
“The Trump Administration’s initial refusal to release funding for SNAP has caused delays and uncertainty for families who are trying to get food on the table. That, paired with the number of federal workers and contractors who are not being paid during this shutdown has resulted in a great need for more food assistance,” said County Executive Pittman. “Anne Arundel County and our partners will continue to do what we have always done: fill in the gap and protect our people.”
Following Friday’s federal court rulings that the Trump Administration is required to utilize federal contingency funds to maintain SNAP benefits, yesterday the White House announced that they will use the contingency funds to partially fund SNAP benefits. Following this announcement, Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order releasing $62 million from Maryland’s Fiscal Responsibility Fund to ensure full November SNAP benefits for Marylanders.
The Trump Administration has indicated that there will be long delays, potentially several weeks or months, before SNAP recipients receive their November benefits. In Anne Arundel County, 41,847 residents rely on SNAP, including 22,430 households, 17,031 children, and 5,231 seniors.
“The Anne Arundel County Food Bank and our many pantry partners are seeing a significant increase in attendance at food distributions and in inquiries regarding how to access food and other essential resources during the federal government shutdown. Many are first-time participants at a food distribution, and many are working unpaid as part of the civilian federal workforce,” said Leah Paley, CEO of the Anne Arundel County Food Bank. “The Anne Arundel County Food Bank is grateful for its longstanding partnership with Anne Arundel County Government and for these additional funds. With our many partners, we are committed to serving our neighbors and helping to stem the tide during this crisis and beyond."
The $500,000 of funding for the Anne Arundel County Food Bank for this program will come from the county’s $10 million federal disaster response fund that was included in the FY26 budget.
“Anne Arundel County takes care of our people. We held funds in reserve in this year's budget so that we could continue to provide the support our residents depend on, no matter what was going on with the federal government,” said County Council Chair Julie Hummer. “I’m very happy that our foresight is helping to ensure that our people are not going to go hungry.”
Food distributions will begin next week on Monday, November 10th. Each distribution will take place from 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM or until food runs out. There will be 500 boxes of non-perishable food available at each site. The schedule for the first week of distributions is as follows:
- Monday, November 10: Severn Senior Activity Center - 1160A Reece Road, Severn, MD 21144
- Tuesday, November 11: County Closed for Veterans Day
- Wednesday, November 12: Lula G. Scott Nutrition Center - 6243 Shady Side Rd, Shady Side, MD 20764
- Thursday, November 13: Annapolis Senior Activity Center - 119 S Villa Ave, Annapolis, MD 21401
- Friday, November 14: Pascal Senior Activity Center - 125 Dorsey Rd, Glen Burnie, MD 21061
Anne Arundel County plans to host distributions through the first week of December. The county will monitor the demand seen at these distributions and may adjust the schedule and amount of food available accordingly.
To find the updated weekly distribution schedule or access other food assistance, residents can visit aacounty.org/federal-impacts, call the food access warmline at 410-222-FOOD (3663), or email food-access@aacounty.org.
A press conference recording is available on ArundelTV’s YouTube channel here.
