Maryland Food Bank

I stopped by the Maryland Food Bank’s Baltimore headquarters recently to drop off some canned goods and learn more about their work—it’s an impressive operation right in the heart of Halethorpe. The warehouse is massive and spotless, with organized sorting lines where volunteers pack boxes like a well-oiled machine. Staff and volunteers were incredibly friendly from the second I walked in; they gave me a quick tour, explained how donations turn into meals for 600,000+ Marylanders yearly, and even shared stories about their Farm to Food Bank program (fresh produce from 50+ local farms to food deserts). Hours are solid (M-F 8 AM–4:30 PM), and it’s easy to schedule a drop-off or volunteer shift online. The mission hits home—they’re not just handing out boxes; programs like FoodWorks (12-week culinary training for folks struggling with livable wages) and SNAP outreach actually build skills and long-term help. One volunteer I chatted with said packing kids’ meals feels “life-changing,” and from what I’ve heard, it’s true—they distribute millions of pounds without waste. Minor gripe: The industrial location off Hollins Ferry Rd can feel a bit tucked away if you’re driving from downtown Baltimore (10–15 min from I-95), and parking gets tight during big drives. But Yelp (4.4/5 from 5 reviews) calls it “rewarding and efficient,” Foursquare users love the “great purpose and service,” and MapQuest locals rave about “volunteering opportunities that make you feel good.” No negative vibes anywhere—everyone agrees it’s genuine, no-frills hunger relief done right. Bottom line: If you’re in Baltimore and want to give back (donate, volunteer, or just get connected to resources), this is the spot. It’s organized, impactful, and full of heart. Highly recommend—shows what community looks like when it works.

It's a wonderful distribution center to get what you need if you need assistance in food and other necessities. Respectful and helpful employees that will help you along the way. They also have a 12 weeks Culinary Program called FoodWorks which I'm currently in, so glad that I signed up and working towards becoming a professional Chef. If you love working in the kitchen and looking to advance your career than I advise you to sign up. You can also obtain your Servsafe and Manager Certifications while working the program. 👍🏻👍🏻

My 16 year old asked me to go online a month ago to get us signed up for a Saturday. Super proud of this kid. He's got such a huge heart.

Great place and overall organization! Was able to provide some of my time to the Md Food Bank to assist people who need these services. The work environment is very relaxed and the coffee machine in the breakroom is phenomenal lol

My C.AN. Gives me and my grandson enough food for 3 meals. I lost about twenty pounds just so my grandson has food. Everything changed in our food bank in Baltimore County in Colgate. They went from points to leftover points. Fresh produce to no produce.. Social Services stop all interview's and I am unable to apply on line. How sad!

As a volunteer, I have observed a very well run and organized facility. I have a little more restored outlook on public services. The overall operation appears to be very busy, with multiple vehicles of all types picking up and delivering much needed resources.

A great non-profit organization committed to feeding Marylanders. Been volunteering here for 11/2 years. Great staff, wonderful experience. If you have ever considered volunteering, here is where to start.

I love volunteering with the Maryland Food Bank. The culture is welcoming and family-oriented.

Volunteered today and had a good time in the warehouse, packing boxes to be sent to shelters. We moved so fast that we finished the shift in 2 hours!

I had the amazing opportunity of volunteering here w the Lockheed Martin special projects team back in the fall and I'm looking forward to many more personal volunteer experiences during weekends of dedicating time to such a great cause. Maryland Food Bank thrives off of weekend volunteer hours for packers in their conveyor belt area to box canned goods and boxed foods as they'd otherwise have to bill these hours to payroll. I enjoyed myself and even got in a little cardio as the belt moved more and more foodstuffs through. I was in charge of canned veggies and boy were there lots of them. It was a good time and I can't wait to go back!

Great mission, great purpose, great service. If you ever feel the urge to do something good for the community and the underprivileged, Maryland Food Bank offers many great opportunities for you to volunteer.

I'm writing this review in my attempt to become an Elite for the year of 2014. But I think I can recap my experience with the Food Bank here. I volunteered here with Central Maryland Volunteers via MeetUp. The MeetUp capped the volunteer list at 12, but the facility could have surely accommodated more volunteers (that didn't make sense to me - I think the organizer from MeetUp wanted quality and quantity over just quantity). While I was there, I was stationed at the conveyer belt, and I was in charge of packaging Tomato Sauce. Basically, this is what happens. A bunch of donations come in from different areas/sources around Maryland to the Food Bank. The Food Bank acts as a redistributor of these resources to families in need. To act as this redistributor, the Food Bank has to sort through a bunch of goods that come through their doors, which are often times not suitable for consumption. That is where the volunteer efforts come into play. These volunteers sort through these goods - this saves the Food Bank money, which, in turn, saves the state money. And us volunteers may get to see how much waste could potentially arise in the landfills if it were not for organizations like the Food Bank -- Back to my responsibility in packaging the Tomato Sauce goods into boxes. My task was rather slow, so I took the initiative to also package the canned tomato goods that neighbored the tomato sauce station because no one was on it. And a lot of canned tomato goods were filling the conveyer belt at the time. This kept me busy for the next two and a half hours. - I also chatted with a fella who was working right next to me. Our topics of conversation ranged from junk food to canned goods and engineering. The volunteer experience was worth it. I wrote a bit more than I intended to aspire to obtain some Elite status on a review website (the struggle...)

I was volunteering here some time ago with YGL and I've got to admit it was pretty fun and rewarding. I've been trying to get some friends to go back there and help out as well. Didn't take up all day so it was pretty flexible to fit in my agenda. It felt good to help and be apart of something that means something to so many. The staff here are grateful for all the help they can get and they tell you how much of an impact volunteers really make. Its an ongoing great cause that I wish to make more time for in the near future.