BE A PART OF SOMETHING GREATER: VOLUNTEER FOR OUR CSFP PROGRAM
Every machine has a cog, a part, and an important function. Without all necessary parts, most machines cannot work. Our local community works in a similar fashion. Everyone living in their community can be a cog in something greater that can help save a person from living out the rest of their lives in poorer health.
Did you know that volunteering for The Salvation Army’s CSFP program each weekend can save a senior’s life?
Our Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) distributes nutritional monthly food packages to low-income seniors over the age of 60 who fall 130% below the federal income guidelines each month. Each 30-to-40-pound box is chock full of healthy groceries that can help seniors prepare nutritious meals they need to live well.
Each package also aids seniors who are vulnerable to malnutrition, who are living below the poverty line, and who are unable to take transportation anywhere. These healthy foods also help seniors avoid exorbitant hospitalizations and nursing home placements. Many times, seniors are stuck between using their limited funds to purchase medicine or even eat a meal.
Did you know that the CSFP program is our nation’s first food assistance effort using United States Department of Agriculture Commodity foods? Every grocery package supplements insufficient diets by ensuring seniors get foods with protein, calcium, iron and vitamins C and A.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program packages vary from month to month, but always include:
One or two cartons of juice
Two of three packs of a meat protein item (e.g. beef, chicken, salmon, or tuna)
Two cartons of shelf-stable milk
Three items of plant-based protein (e.g. dry beans, canned beans, lentils, or peanut butter)
Two packs of a grain item
One block of cheese
Two or three cans of fruit
Eight cans of vegetables
Two breakfast items
Volunteers who participate in packaging grocery boxes each weekend are driven by their desire to help others. Helping vulnerable seniors and the less fortunate, is a great way to create positive change on a local level. Each volunteer is a cog in a powerful machine. Each volunteer is a soldier in the war against hunger and poverty in Baltimore City and in Baltimore County.
Many people don’t understand the struggles that people face daily. Community service opportunities such as volunteering for our CSFP program on the weekends helps solve food insecurity problems and it also allows you to put yourself into someone else’s shoes for once. Empathy and compassion are skills you gain or strengthen after volunteering time and effort with this program. Would you like to be a cog for our machine? We need your help more than ever!
Are you interested in volunteering for our CSFP program? E-mail our Volunteer and Special Events Coordinator Samantha Bowman at [email protected]