Office of Food Systems Resilience official outlines county food programs and cautions local funds cannot replace SNAP

The County’s Office of Food Systems Resilience (OFSR) told the Committee of Health and Human Services that the county’s network of grants and contracts bolsters food access but cannot fully substitute for federal SNAP benefits while the federal program is disrupted.

Ms. Bruskin of the Office of Food Systems Resilience summarized the office’s operating model and priorities, saying the office’s work combines contracts with nonprofits, grant programs and a few direct county‑run initiatives. “We want to encourage local production,” she said, adding the office’s operating budget is “about $13,000,000 every year.”

Bruskin described a county Community Food Assistance (CFA) grant program that supports 49 providers across the county and funds a range of service types. She said the CFA program is about $3,500,000 per year and that roughly 32% of purchases through the program come from local retailers and county farms. Bruskin said, as presented, roughly 300,000 households participated in county‑supported food assistance over the past year (presentation phrasing was unclear on exact phrasing).

The presentation highlighted several county initiatives: a Farm to Food Bank program (contracted with Manna Food Center) that purchased nearly 160,000 pounds of food last year from over 30 Montgomery County farms; a Community Farm Share Choice Market that serves more than 200 families weekly; and a pilot called MC Groceries that provided retail shopping funds and grocery delivery to families in the “SNAP gap.” Bruskin said the MC Groceries pilot served 550 families (1,100 children) in its first year with $100 per child per month and that the county plans to expand support to about 650 families.

Juan Cruz of OFSR discussed the office’s data work: standardized client satisfaction and pre/post surveys, translation into top languages and mapping program reach with the county community equity index to identify ZIP codes with low service levels and high disadvantage.

Committee members pressed OFSR on near‑term responses as SNAP payments were interrupted. Bruskin said the county will deploy its network of more than 60 community organizations and use contracts to infuse funds rapidly, but she warned local resources are not a full replacement for SNAP. “With $12,500,000 per month,” she said, “even the very generous investment that the county council is making in food security won't even cover two weeks of that amount of time.” She urged reducing documentation barriers and leaning on trusted community partners to reach residents who have not previously sought assistance.

Bruskin also described an expanded food‑recovery strategy: grantees can now receive funding to recover and redistribute surplus food (previously funding was primarily for purchasing food), and four organizations received infrastructure grants for on‑site cold storage, transportation and waste management. She said the county is partnering with private and philanthropic contributors — naming Morning Star Foundation — to leverage additional infrastructure investments.

Speakers from market programs and a farm operator described how county support for Maryland Market Money (a state matching program) and county contracts help farmers and markets. Bruskin said one partner reported a 50% drop in SNAP purchases and overall sales at a specific market comparing September 2024 to September 2025, underscoring the financial strain on vendors.

Shortly after the committee adjourned, Clements Johnson announced that the governor had declared a state of emergency and appropriated $10,000,000 to continue food assistance through November. Bruskin said those funds are intended for the Food Assistance Network and “probably” will flow to the Capital Area Food Bank and the Maryland Food Bank; she cautioned distribution details were still being worked out.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the session. Members praised OFSR’s data work and sought additional support for small and minority farmers, delivery options for homebound residents and ways to reduce stigma for first‑time assistance seekers. The committee adjourned after a question‑and‑answer period.

Sources: Presentation and discussion at the Committee of Health and Human Services; OFSR slides and speakers’ statements as recorded in the transcript.