What's Happening in Rosedale, MD…

This Christmas, Mercy Chefs, along with local volunteers, teamed up to serve holiday meals to the homeless.

The chefs and their volunteers brought a mobile kitchen to West Baltimore, Middle River, and Baltimore's downtown, and used it to cook $5,000 worth of holiday food. The meal included chicken, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and other traditional holiday fare.

The effort goes back to 1999, when a woman named Janice Bowman saw homeless people going through trash cans scrounging for food. Bowman, a cosmetologist, began saving the tips her customers gave her and used the money to buy food for the homeless living on Baltimore's streets.

The word spread, and other joined her to develop ‘Code Blue Christmas’, which went on to feed the homeless during the holidays. The groups first planned to serve between 300 and 500 meals, but that number has now increased.

The ‘Code Blue’ designation refers to the fact that when temperatures drop to 13 degrees, including wind chill, the city declares a ‘Code Blue’ emergency.

At one location on Saturday, meals were served by police officers as well as police chaplains. They took the opportunity to talk with gang members who were present and who may have had only negative interactions with law enforcement up to that time.

Organizers might want to create Presentation Folders to describe their program to others who might join in the effort.Get a Free Quote for Presentation Folders