An Update From SPAN

Recently, I was talking with a client as we were loading food into her car. She was sharing how her family had started caring for her father-in-law, one of their kids had been sick, how she was looking for an additional job because she wasn’t getting enough hours, and she was borrowing a car because hers had broken down. What I remember about the conversation is her mental exhaustion, so many things to take care of and difficult decisions to make.

Like this family, many of our clients fit into the category of earning too much to qualify for social services and not enough to afford all the basics. A trip to the hospital, a needed car repair or another unexpected expense is enough to throw them into a temporary crisis and make difficult decisions prioritizing bills. According to the United Way, 6% of households in Anne Arundel County live below the poverty line, and an additional 24% of households are below the ALICE threshold. ALICE (asset limited income constrained and employed) is a category of households whose occupants are employed and still have a difficult time paying for necessary expenses in a budget that doesn’t include saving for emergencies (learn more at www.unitedforalice.org).

The local costs for these seven factors used to calculate the ALICE level for counties are the following: housing, groceries, child care, health care, transportation, technology and taxes. Shortcuts and decisions in these areas can have larger and long-term impacts. Having to make decisions between putting limited funds toward rent or fixing a car, an electric bill or a doctor visit, and food or a prescription bill, are not simple and are often intertwined. The car might be needed to get to work. Pushing off needed health care might be OK in the short term, but then at some point, it affects the ability to work.

In the short term, it can be easy to skimp on food, but the lack of access to enough food and a limited or uncertain availability of nutritious food affects performance at work and school and can cause long-term health issues.

Thankfully this is one area that this community does an amazing job helping with. SPAN’s shelves are filled by donations from the community and enable us to help close to 50 households a month with needed food. So often we hear “thank you” and gratitude for the food. One of the biggest smiles I have seen, truly ear to ear, was from a child giddy with excitement and anticipation of what would be in the food boxes! Thank you – it was wonderful knowing that we were able to provide every kind of food he was hoping for!

And, thanks to this generous community, SPAN helped 75 families in April with a total of more than $14,000 toward court-ordered evictions, utility turnoffs and medical prescriptions. It is not as easy to illustrate, but just like with the food, the financial donations from businesses, churches, community groups and individuals add up and make an impact on these community members who are exhausted and making tough decisions with limited income. Thank you!

SPAN (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) is an independent nonprofit food pantry and emergency services provider that has been helping local families with eviction prevention, utility turnoffs, medical/prescription bills and food since 1990. SPAN serves 15 zip codes in Anne Arundel County. SPAN is located behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church at 400 Benfield Road in Severna Park. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10:00am-1:30pm. For more information, call 410-647-0889, email spanhelps@yahoo.com or visit www.spanhelps.org. Financial donations can be made through the website. Food donations can be dropped off 24/7 using the storage bin behind SPAN’s building. Please “like” SPAN on Facebook!