In central Maryland, more than 319,000 people don’t have access to healthy food.
The average Maryland SNAP (food stamps) benefits are only $30 per week, per person. We all know that the cheapest options aren’t always the healthiest, particularly if you live in a food desert, neighborhoods that lack healthy food options at grocery stores and other purveyors.
On Monday, Baltimore organizations united to provide a healthy source of protein to unprivileged communities in the region.
The FISH (Feeding Individuals to Support Health) Project will aim to provide area residents living in underserved communities with access to healthy and nutritious meal options.
As a major supporter of the project, McCormick will also be providing, healthy recipes that utilize low-cost ingredients, which will be assigned to the community along with the fresh fish.
The FISH Project is currently growing and harvesting bronzini, a Mediterranean sea bass that can be easily prepared using olive oil and seasonings such as garlic, various herbs, sea salt and pepper, and roasted in an oven, stovetop or grill. Future growth and harvest cycles could include shrimp — and be harvested and distributed as early as December of this year.
The group of local organizations gathered at Baltimore’s Franciscan Center, where guests of the center were served a healthy, bronzini lunch as part of this important initiative.
“In many of the communities we represent, individuals and families do not have access or the financial means to purchase healthy food, like fish,” explained Franklyn Baker, president, and CEO, United Way of Central Maryland.
United Way of Central Maryland, McCormick’s Flavor for Life® program, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) and JJ McDonnell joined together to announce the FISH Project, a collaboration between these local organizations that will impact the health of the central Maryland region.
To learn more about the FISH project, or to find out more information about each organization’s role in the program, or to find bronzini recipes, click here
