St. Mary’s Christian Outreach Ministry is committed to fighting hunger and supporting families in northern Harford County, southern York County, and Baltimore City. Through a variety of community-driven projects, we help provide food, holiday meals, and other essential resources to those in need.

Each year, St. Mary’s distributes food vouchers and groceries to local Maryland and Pennsylvania families for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The families are assigned to us by the Mason-Dixon Community Services organizations. The vouchers are redeemed at, Saubel’s Shurfine Market, in Whiteford. The vouchers cover the cost of the basic items needed to make a holiday dinner. Three collections are taken up by St. Mary’s during the year to cover the costs of the vouchers.

In addition to the vouchers, our ministry collects groceries donated by St. Mary's parishioners. The groceries are then sorted, bagged, and distributed to each of our client families. For Christmas, our ministry partners with the Belles of St. Mary’s and their Giving Tree project, providing gifts for the children of our client families. Our ministry works closely with the Belles to make sure that they have the necessary information about each family. We then distribute the gifts along with the Christmas groceries to the families. We have a small core group of volunteers and we’ve been blessed with lots of volunteers who help with the sorting and bagging of the groceries. 

Since 2011, our ministry has served over 950 families, impacting more than 3,200 individuals. Our client families have experienced just about every type of misfortune possible. They are very appreciative of our efforts and of the generosity shown by the parishioners of St. Mary’s.

In partnership with Our Daily Bread(ODB), a Catholic Charities program serving the hungry of Baltimore City, St. Mary provides frozen casseroles every month. ODB serves over a quarter of a million hot meals annually to those in need. Since joining the program in 2020, St. Mary parishioners have donated over 1,600 casseroles. Recipes are available in the documents section on the right of this page, shared in the parish newsletter and on our social media channels, encouraging continued participation from the community.

We are always in need of volunteers to help with food collection, sorting, bagging, and casserole preparation. Volunteers must be Virtus or Worthy of the Call trained to participate. Whether you’re looking to make a one-time contribution or commit to ongoing support, your time and generosity will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.

Join us in our mission to reduce hunger and bring hope to families in need. Contact us today to get involved!