Fighting Food Insecurity: Wolfe Street Academy’s Approach

Upper Fells Point is home to Wolfe Street Academy, a community school that works every day to support not just students, but the families and neighborhood it serves. 

One challenge facing the community is access to affordable, healthy food. Approximately 70% of families with children at Wolfe Street Academy live below the poverty line, making reliable access to nutritious food an important part of supporting student and family well-being.

When Wolfe Street Community School Coordinator Heidi Weiss-Beedie joined the school through its lead agency, Elev8 Baltimore, Inc., Principal Mark Gaither gave her a clear charge: find more ways to get food to Wolfe Street families. At the time, families were receiving food through the Maryland Food Bank and a Johns Hopkins Neighborhood Grant. Heidi immediately began looking for ways to expand those resources and strengthen the school’s food support.

Today, she’s created partnerships with four organizations that provide food to families throughout the month:

Once a month, Wolfe Street purchases food from the Maryland Food Bank using grant funds. The distribution generally takes place on the fourth Thursday of each month and provides shelf-stable items and frozen meats to more than 60 families.

Heidi also connected with First Fruits Farm, a Christian-based farm that provides food at no cost to organizations serving communities in need. On the second Tuesday of each month, Wolfe Street receives enough food for approximately 35 families, including fresh fruits and vegetables, shelf-stable items, and bottled water.

Another important partnership has grown right in the Wolfe Street neighborhood. The Upper Fells Point Improvement Association (UFPIA) created a food security fund to help provide Wolfe Street families with boxes of fresh food purchased from Full Circle Farm. Each $20 box includes fruits, vegetables, and eggs and can help provide a family of four with fresh produce for one to two weeks. 

The timing of those distributions varies depending on available funds, and the community is working to build a more sustainable source of support. UFPIA is currently seeking 40 donors who will contribute $20 per month to help keep the program going through the winter and beyond.

If you are interested in donating click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-security-fund-for-upper-fells-point-community?cp_src=d

Wolfe Street has also developed a partnership with Devin, the Community School Coordinator at Sandtown-Winchester Achievement Academy. Each week, Wolfe Street receives leftover food bags from the school, generally providing shelf-stable food and bread for another 25–30 families.

Together, these partnerships mean that families have access to food support at multiple points throughout the month—and that takes a tremendous amount of coordination, relationship-building, and care.

Thanks, Ms. Weiss-Beedie, Wolfe Street, and our great partners for feeding our families!