Howard County is one of the nation’s most prosperous communities, yet thousands of local families are struggling to meet basic needs. The growing cost of housing, food, and childcare are straining working families across our community. As Howard County’s designated anti-poverty organization, CAC is responding.
Since 2020, CAC’s Howard County Food Bank has experienced a 57% increase in daily shoppers, with some neighborhoods along the Route One Corridor seeing increases in the need for food assistance as high as 70%.
Today, according to the Maryland Family Network, the cost of childcare in Howard County surpasses the cost of housing. As the county’s sole Head Start grantee since 1979, CAC understands the critical importance of access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education.
CAC is responding to our community’s needs by building a new, no cost early childhood education center and a new, larger, more efficient food bank, both as part of CAC’s Opportunity Campus.
As we have done for 60 years, CAC will continue to fulfill our mission to diminish poverty and enable self-sufficiency for all Howard County individuals, families, and children in need.
Today, CAC’s Food Bank serves an average of 120 shoppers per day. This level of need exceeds the capacity of the building and limits our ability to meet the growing demand for food assistance.
The new 14,000-square-foot purpose-built Howard County Food Bank on Montevideo Road will eliminate the operational challenges at the current Howard County Food Bank and will provide for our community for generations to come.
In 2026, Howard County does not have enough childcare providers for the over 22,000 children under the age of five. Working families living at or just above the poverty level cannot afford the costly expense of high-quality early childhood education. Many choose to stay out of the workforce, keeping their families from becoming self-sufficient – and keeping valuable individuals from contributing to our region’s economy.
We also know much of a child’s brain development occurs in the first five years of life making kindergarten readiness one of the keys to lifelong success.
Building on the success of CAC’s five existing Early Childhood Education Centers, CAC will add a sixth center to expand access to high-quality, no-cost early childhood education and whole-family services for infants, toddlers, and prekindergarten children.
| Howard County Food Bank Gerwig Lane |
The New Howard County Food Bank Route One Corridor |
|---|---|
| No ability to receive bulk donations from large trucks | Three loading docks to receive large food donations, reducing food waste in the community |
| No space for partner organizations | Space for partner organizations to meet with community members needing assistance |
| Seven parking spaces | 57 parking spaces |
| One-way into the parking lot with no traffic flow | Multiple exits to ensure smooth traffic flow |
| Aging mechanical systems | Energy-efficient mechanical systems |
| Two single stall bathrooms | Multiple bathrooms |
| Traditional Private Pay Early Childhood Education | CAC Early Childhood Education Program |
|---|---|
| Full-cost tuition | No-cost to income-eligible parents for full-day, full-year programming |
| Parents provide meals, diapers | CAC provides meals and diapers |
| Parents engage with private providers for health and developmental screenings | CAC conducts health and developmental screenings |
| Variable levels of accreditation and monitoring | Accredited and monitored by state and federal grantors as well as NAEYC |
| Limited access to onsite interventions | Access to intervention specialists and early childhood experts on site |
| Families seek access to CAC’s Howard County Food Bank independently | Automatic eligibility and frequent access to CAC’s Howard County Food Bank on the same campus |
| Full access to CAC’s core services | |
| Full suite of wrap around family engagement supports with an assigned family service worker |
To learn more about giving and naming opportunities, please contact
Director of Development Chris Brandt at 410-313-6576 or CBrandt@CAC-HC.org