by Kym Byrnes, photography by Nikola Tzenov
Steve Lambertson likes to say he wasn’t born in Carroll County, but he got here as fast as he could. Since moving to Carroll in 1983, he has made this community home.
For the past 15 years, much of his heart has been tied to Carroll County Food Sunday, where he now leads the fight against local hunger as the president of its board of directors.
As demand for food assistance rises, Lambertson offers a clear-eyed look at what food insecurity really looks like here — neighbors, families, children and seniors who may be one unexpected setback away from needing help. His message is rooted in hope, persistence and deep belief in the generosity of Carroll County.
What is Carroll County Food Sunday?
It’s a local nonprofit, founded in 1982, and its mission is really simple: We give food to people who need it. There are no hoops to jump through. If you’re a county resident and feel you need to come in and get food from us, we give you food. It’s what we call neighbor choice: You get a menu, select items in the categories you want, and we have volunteers bag them and give them to you.
People ask for only what they need, which reduces waste. We issue milk vouchers accepted at local grocery stores — same with veggies. We have a voucher system with farmers markets in the county. That system is one of my favorite things. It gives people access to fresh, local produce. At the same time, it gives money to local farmers.
When and why did you plant roots in Carroll County?
I grew up in Baltimore County and lived in Baltimore City after I got married. I like to say that I wasn’t born here, but I got here as fast as I could. We moved here in 1983, and it just became our home.
“People are treated with respect and dignity — and that goes in both directions — to and from our volunteers. Personal relationships developed that I didn’t expect when I first got involved. We are a very volunteer-driven organization;
we have only three part-time employees and 157 volunteers.
We really depend on those volunteers.”
What drew you to get involved with Carroll County Food Sunday?
My career was in construction management before I retired, and I was involved with various Baltimore-centric nonprofits because, for a time, that is where I lived and worked. The longer I was here in Carroll County, the more I wanted to get involved locally. Ed Leister [the former executive director] invited me to take a tour, and then I started volunteering on the weekends. That was 15 years ago, and that was it. It’s one of those initiatives that, once you get involved, see how it works, and who it affects, you’re sold. There are a lot of great causes you can give time and money to, but this is one you can see the good of what’s happening in the moment.
What are the challenges of running this type of organization right now?
Sheer demand. Between 2022 and 2025, we have seen a 100% increase in the number of families served. Demand has skyrocketed, and we’re trying to keep up. Financially, we were strong during COVID, but since it ended, donations have been stagnant, and demand has gone nuts. We’re seeing close to 600 families a week, and in 2025, we had over 2,200 distinct families that came in.
Do you see trends in the circumstances of families who need food support?
I think the thing that is interesting about these numbers is that it’s not typically people facing chronic food insecurity. A lot of it is people just trying to get through a rough patch. Over 60% of people who come in do so less than 10 times a year. Families are only allowed to come in once a week. What we’re seeing a lot of is the family just above the poverty level, who are not eligible for government assistance, and just one unexpected issue — a car breaking down, a medical bill — creates real financial instability. That’s why we’re there — a safety net.
What’s something about your work that might surprise people?
I think the thing that surprises me, and it struck me when I first got involved, is the dynamic between our volunteers and the neighbors that come in for assistance. People are treated with respect and dignity — and that goes in both directions — to and from our volunteers. Personal relationships developed that I didn’t expect when I first got involved. We are a very volunteer-driven organization; we have only three part-time employees and 157 volunteers. We really depend on those volunteers.
When people think of hunger, they don’t always picture Carroll County. What does food insecurity look like here?
It looks like a walk down any main street. A lot of times, you’d never think a person is in that situation [food insecure] to see them. What struck me is how judgmental I was before I got involved in this organization, when I didn’t understand or get to know folks who came in. It allows you to look at people in a different light. It looks like the average Carroll Countian. And there are a lot of kids. We had over 1,800 kids ages 0 to 17 who got assistance last year, and over 1,200 distinct seniors.
“The lifeblood of our organization is donations; whether financial or food. We buy about two-thirds of the food we give away; the other one-third is donated by people and drives.”
Are there specific misconceptions about hunger or food assistance that you wish people better understood?
That it’s something that happens to someone else. I don’t think people realize how many people are so close to being in a situation where they need help. Unless you’re well off, if you get a thing or two that goes wrong — you’re laid off from a job, stuck in a bad relationship or something happens that changes your world — you could be walking in our door.
How important is the partnership between government programs and local nonprofits in addressing hunger?
Government support is pretty limited. We get one or two pretty small grants from the state. The county provides us with the building. But other than that, we don’t really get anything directly from the government. This past fall, when things were extraordinarily crazy due to the suspension of SNAP benefits, federal employees being laid off and inflation going nuts, the Maryland Food Bank was able to extend state support to us to reduce the cost of the food we purchase from them.
What role do residents play in helping meet the need?
The lifeblood of our organization is donations, whether financial or food. We buy about two-thirds of the food we give away; the other one-third is donated by people and drives. There’s also the opportunity to volunteer. Our volunteers tend to be retired people during the week, and on Saturday, it tends to be mostly kids getting service hours. Beyond donations and volunteering, one of the things we try to do is get our name out there and let people know what we do and where we are.
What gives you hope when you think about the future of addressing food insecurity in Carroll County?
We are passionate about what we do and our mission, and we are watching the problem get worse, but our resolve hasn’t let up. One of our goals is to figure out how we can help relieve some of the root causes of why so many people need to come in and see us. Ultimately, that’s the answer. Not trying to give away less food, but trying to figure out why we need so much food.
Even in the face of surging demand, I remain hopeful because we live in such a caring and generous community. When the chips are down, our Carroll County neighbors come through, time after time. We saw it during the COVID health emergency, and I’m confident we’ll get the support we need during these most recent challenging times.
