Family League of Baltimore

Too many Baltimore children and families lack access to the affordable and nutritious food they need to grow, thrive and succeed. To make sure young people are receiving nourishing meals each day, Family League has focused its nutrition work on reaching children wherever they are: at home, in school, after school and during the summer.

Family League is a sponsor of several federal food programs for children, including an innovative Mobile Meals program for summer meals in underserved neighborhoods. In addition, Family League is a leading partner in the Baltimore Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, an initiative the Mayor's Office convened to engage state and local agencies as well as community leaders, elected officials, and other non-profit organizations in concerted strategies to eradicate childhood hunger and increase participation in federal nutrition assistance programs.

Community Schools are a place and a set of strategic partnerships among a school and other community resources that promote student achievement, positive conditions for learning, and the well-being of families and communities. A quality academic program, while necessary, is not sufficient. Community Schools work to reduce the barriers to success for students and families by layering critical supports into a school building, creating one seamless access point. For example, Community Schools provide high-quality afterschool activities, health check-ups, mental health counseling, financial counseling for parents, and family stabilization services that keep a family intact and prevent children from entering the child welfare system. Community Schools transform a school into a hub of integrated service delivery.

Cherry Hill is a neighborhood in south Baltimore that qualifies as a Healthy Food Priority Area. Cherry Hill’s location makes it historically isolated from other Baltimore neighborhoods. The Cherry Hill community “was established in the late 1940s [by] the Housing Authority of Baltimore City.” The NAACP, Urban League, and many others protested “placing [African Americans] in Cherry Hill due to unsuitable environmental conditions including: the presence of industrial plants, polluted water, environmental hazards, and the presence of the city incinerator. [This] was also a less than ideal location due to its isolation from other communities and the limited land for future expansion based on the waterfront boundaries.” Despite the protests, Cherry Hill development moved forward. As with many communities in Baltimore, past discriminatory housing practices have resulted in Cherry Hill experiencing inequitable access to resources and opportunities. Such systemic resource gaps have contributed to Cherry Hill being below the city average in average healthy food availability, life expectancy, median household income, and other measures of community health.

Family League’s work with Cherry Hill has exposed us not only to the needs of the community, but more importantly, to the stakeholders working to further the community’s vision for economic self-sufficiency. A critical partner in this work has been the Black Yield Institute (BYI). BYI was invited to the community to partner with residents around responding to identified needs. BYI has organized leaders and stakeholders to address two major issues in Cherry Hill: (1) a lack of community wealth building opportunities, and (2) limited access to healthy, affordable, and culturally-appropriate foods.

The community-driven planning process has revealed a need for a grocery store, intergenerational cooking and nutrition classes, and an expansion of the existing community garden. BYI and Cherry Hill leaders have been convening stakeholders to explore the transition of Cherry Hill to an agrihood. Agrihoods are “single-family, multi-family or mixed-use communities built with a working farm as a focus.” More than an urban farm, an agrihood is a neighborhood developed with the specific goal of providing instant, easy access to agriculture for everyone who lives there. Agriculture becomes a driver for many of the systems in an agrihood.