Salisbury church receives $115k grant to expand Adopt-A-Block program

SALISBURY, Md. – A grant in Wicomico County is helping one church expand it’s “Adopt-A-Block” program.

The Local Management board and Wicomico Partnerships for Families and Children gave more than $115,000 to Emmanuel Wesleyan Church (EWC). The church’s outreach program finds community members in need and then delivers food or other necessities to them. Organizers say that this added money will allow them to expand their mission from homes to schools.

“So part of this grant, what we have done, is create two mobile food pantries which will go out to seven schools every Friday starting September 13 and deliver between 40 and 50 backpacks of food for the young people who have been identified by the school’s administration,” says Mark Thompson, the director of EWC’s Adopt-A-Block Outreach.

They will focus on seven schools in the county including West Salisbury and Pittsville Elementary. Right now, Adopt-A-Block meets every second and fourth Saturday of the month. But this expanded program will be able to reach kids on a weekly basis.

“They will have food for the weekend and then they return the bag on Monday. And my team goes back out to the schools, cleans them up and packs them again for the next Friday. And we’ll do this every single Friday,” says Thompson.

The program will also be able to provide cooking classes to parents who need help making healthy home cooked meals.

To learn more or to get involved with the program head to EWC’s website here.