Johns Hopkins Health Plans is proud to announce our recent grant of $20,000 to Laurel Advocacy and Services (LARS). The grant was presented on Aug. 12 to support the organization’s initiative to bring food and services to underserved people living in Maryland’s Prince George’s, Howard and Anne Arundel counties.

In attendance to present the check to the Executive Director of LARS, Shannon Mouton, was Johns Hopkins Health Plans’ Ed Kumian, CEO of Priority Partners.

Johns Hopkins Health Plans and LARS share a common commitment to improve community access to healthy foods and provide solutions that address the social determinants that impact community health, such as race, income or education level. With this grant, Johns Hopkins Health Plans will help support the expansion of the recently launched LARS On the GO! program.

The LARS On the GO! program benefits low- and moderate-income families and individuals — including seniors, veterans, people who have disabilities and others who are historically underserved due to limited mobility. LARS on the GO! objectives include bringing nutritional food and case management services to people where they live via the LARS Mobile Food Pantry. The spacious retrofitted motorhome includes an ADA-accessible food pantry with client meeting space, where LARS case managers can offer counseling and referrals for financial, social and health services.

Individuals can browse the pantry and choose groceries, including fresh produce, staple foods and even special diet items. Our funding will help LARS to expand its partnerships with local farms and other healthy food sources to provide affordable access to nutritious foods.

LARS expects this program to deliver mobile emergency services including groceries and other assistance to roughly 200 households in 2025. Johns Hopkins Health Plans is honored to provide this grant in support of LARS and its vision to restore hope and well-being to diverse and underserved communities.