KEYS Empowers will distribute food packages to people in need at the site of the future KEYS Community Healing Village on Saturday, July 25 starting at 11 a.m. until everything is gone. KEYS Empowers is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that focuses on healing, education, and leadership. The organ ization offers community-based programs, including educational opportunities, youth mentorship, mental health resources, medical services, and emergency support. “KEYS believes our food distribution program can bridge the gap to create a healthy, happy and stable home without the worry of food insecurity,” said Mujahid Muhammad, founder of KEYS Empowers, in a statement. “While the KEYS Community Healing Village is still under construction, our mission is already alive. We are not waiting for our doors to open to begin serving our community. This is the early expression of what the Healing Village is meant to be: a place of nourishment, dignity, connection, and care.” This is not the first food distribution event held by KEYS Empowers – there was a food and supply event on May 30. The future Healing Village is in the center of a food desert, and addressing food insecurity is central to its mission. The organization seeks to provide meals to 300 families per day, year-round, and holding their temporary meal distribution program here will help build long-term connections with the families it intends to serve. Muhammad is a member of the Baltimore City school board and sees the positive impact the free meals program has on students. KEYS Empowers has a culinary therapy program that began on June 8. The organization aims to fill the gap for students who are not in school over the summer to receive their free meals, understanding the link between food insecurity and setbacks in learning, mental and behavior health issues, and more. Muhammad at the KEYS Empowers Healing Village construction site. Screenshot via KEYS_Empowers Instagram account. “What began as a community initiative has evolved into a transformative force dedicated to igniting human potential through access, compassion, and connection,” Muhammad said. “We’re building a central hub where every day will be spent engaging, educating, feeding and empowering the members of our community who need it the most. We are empowered by the opportunity to cook with the same families we serve.” In addition to providing neighborhood families with much needed food, KEYS Empowers is launching a new Community Ambassador Program to tap talent within the community, encouraging them to expand outreach, organize volunteers, and improve connections. Ambassadors would get leadership development, training, resources, and support to help mobilize their neighborhoods around community service and volunteering. “Our neighborhoods already have incredible leaders who care deeply about their communities,” Muhammad said. “We simply want to invest in them, equip them with additional tools, and help amplify the work they’re already doing. These ambassadors understand their communities better than anyone, and together we’ll create even greater impact.” The goal of the KEYS Community Healing Village is to be a place of connection, growth, healing, and opportunity. Understanding the deep trauma generations of marginalization can cause, the organization hopes to offer all community members a space to learn, rebuild, and belong. The KEYS Community Healing Village is located at 1511 Ashburton Street, Baltimore, MD. ...read more read less