Garrett County Health Department Hosts Visioning Session for New Food Bank and Resource Hub Initiative

An invitation for the community to weigh in with their vision for the new Garrett County Food Bank and Resource Hub that is being established in Garrett County was held on January 24, 2025. Almost 50 people from local businesses, community organizations, agencies, and the general public attended either in person or virtually to share their ideas. The vision session was designed by Shelley Argabrite, MA, Director of Population Health, Innovation, and Informatics, and co-facilitated by Chris Mullett, President and CEO of Community Action Committee, and Lorena de Leon, DPA, MBA, Sr. Director, Population Health and Social Determinants of Health at Maryland Physicians Care with assistance from Fred Polce, Jr., MS, Director of the Local Behavioral Health Authority, and Local Management Board and John Corbin, Informatics Administrator at the Garrett County Health Department.

The Population Health, Innovation, and Informatics Unit within the Garrett County Health Department established the Garrett County Community Food Network found at GarrettCountyFood.com to organize and document the food and nutrition security efforts fostered within the Health Department from competitive grant awards over the last four years. It highlights partnerships, resources, organizational processes, investments in local farms, community-supported agriculture, and innovative solutions that serve as building blocks to propel our community into operating a sustainable food bank and resource hub. 

The meeting began by asking participants to discuss the strengths of the current food system in Garrett County. Argabrite thoughtfully acknowledged the hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless volunteer hours contributed over the years to help serve people in need and that each of those community assets is vital.

Despite all of the efforts made by churches, agencies, and neighbors, people continue to experience food insecurity. Divine Hope Church provides local data on the number of meals they serve each month to the community hub, found at MyGarrettCounty.com, in an effort to locally quantify food insecurity. This data along with the most recent Community Health Needs Assessment, indicates our efforts are falling short as the need for accessible food resources continues to grow. 

Leadership, funding, partnerships, tenacity, community interest, and need have brought our community to this exciting opportunity. 

“Let’s reinvent the role of a food bank and adopt a new approach that promotes health and creates pathways for people to connect with services that empower them to thrive. Our aim is to cultivate connections centered around food and measure those connections meaningfully,” said Argabrite, “Let’s build a community resource that understands food insecurity is a symptom of systemic root causes and work together to address them.”

The group, both in person and virtually, worked to answer questions about current resources and additional support that may be missing and needed. All feedback was gathered and will be considered for planning purposes.

To stay apprised of progress regarding this work and to read the concept framing the vision, visit GarrettCountyFoodBank.com. In addition, anyone may leave public comments at that location about the project at any time. 

This project is a coordinated effort by the Garrett County Health Department’s Population Health, Innovation, Informatics Unit, Garrett County Community Action, Maryland Physicians Care, and Garrett County Local Management Board, with input from countless Garrett County stakeholders dedicated to reducing food insecurity. 

“When we collectively work together, imagine the meaningful impacts we can measure as people begin to overcome obstacles,” said, Argabrite.

On March 28, 2025, guests who will be utilizing the services of the new food bank and resource hub are invited to an open house from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 360 West Liberty Street, Oakland, Maryland, 21550. This is an opportunity for community voices with lived experiences to share how the food bank and resource hub would best serve them. Light refreshments will be served.

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