MCB Real Estate, The Hampshire Cos. & Reveille Grounds partner to provide free groceries to military families
Baltimore, MD — MCB Real Estate, The Hampshire Companies and Reveille Grounds have teamed together to address food insecurity issues facing veterans and active-duty families throughout the greater Baltimore metropolitan area. The group packaged more than 260 bags of grocery items, which are projected to support 500 local individuals, in a coordinated event on Veterans Day. In addition to the sponsor organizations, the Community Impact project called “Nourish the Service” received financial support from Blue Star Families and the Tower Cares Foundation, France Merrick, and individual contributors. Klein ShopRite at Parkville provided a discount on all the food purchased for the grocery bags.
Katie Kilby, founder of Reveille Grounds, a nonprofit organization designed to support military members and their families, explains that “too often, people get stuck in a ‘thank you for your service narrative’ instead of taking a closer look at the value veterans bring to the table when they have access to social, mental, physical, and financial supports.”
“I am fairly certain that much of the American public assumes that active-duty military families have all of their basic needs met as a benefit of their service,” Kilby explained. “In reality, though, 24 percent of currenting serving families are considered food insecure. According to the Military Family Advisory Network, nearly 80 percent of families carry the burden of paying more than they can comfortably afford for housing, even with their Board and Housing allowances.”
The Marine spouse and former Peace Corps volunteer continued, “the pressure for servicemembers to remain ‘mission ready’ while providing for their families in a tough economy is undue stress amidst an already-challenging lifestyle. This effort was created to bring the on-going food insecurity problem into the spotlight, make a meaningful difference, and encourage local companies and individuals to support veterans and active-duty military families throughout the year.”
Volunteers engaged in a grocery bag packing process at Parkway Crossing, a more than 260,000 square foot shopping center managed by MCB Real Estate and located at 2309 Cleanleigh Drive in Parkville, Maryland. Food items were transferred from the ShopRite grocery store contained within the center and taken to an assembly area located in the former Shoe City space. All completed grocery bags were then delivered to Reveille Grounds at 1401 Severn Street, where families identified by Blue Star Families and other nonprofit organizations will pick up groceries throughout the following week to stock the pantries of military-connected individuals throughout Baltimore City and neighboring counties with items that will nourish before, during, and after the holidays.
Food items in the grocery bags included staples such brown rice, pasta, dried beans, peanut butter, potatoes, canned fruit, apples, and corn muffin mix. An assortment of snacks such as granola bars, trail mix and crackers are in each bag, as will toiletry items such as toothpaste, bar soap, shampoo, and deodorant.
“Our country’s military veterans selflessly provided service to assure the safety and wellbeing of all Americans, and Veterans Day is the perfect opportunity to pay it forward and make their lives more comfortable and secure,” stated Peter Pinkard, MCB Real Estate’s Managing Partner and Co-founder. “It is extremely gratifying to see the high level of support our Nourish the Service initiative received from our partners.”
MCB Real Estate is a community-centric, privately-held institutional investment management firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company features a nationwide portfolio of operating assets totaling approximately 15 million square feet of industrial, office, retail, mixed-use, multi-family, and life sciences properties with almost four million square feet of space in its development pipeline.
The Hampshire Companies is a full-service, private real estate investment firm based in Morristown, New Jersey. It is a vibrant, dynamic organization that combines creative vision and superior execution, thereby enabling it to create and enhance value in real estate investments.
Reveille Grounds is one mission to build stronger veterans, thriving communities, and an enduring legacy of service in Baltimore by connecting people, convening resources, and curating opportunities via an inclusive, collaborative, and centralized hub.
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