BALTIMORE — H&S Bakery, working collaboratively with more than 80 local charities and organizations, donated more than 1.4 million loaves of bread in 2020 as a direct response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We consider it our duty and our great honor to be able to step up and serve our community at such an unprecedented time of tremendous need and uncertainty,” said Bill Paterakis, president of H&S Bakery. “When the pandemic started, our company made a commitment that we would do our very best to support local organizations involved in relief efforts, and further, that we would not waver from that commitment until we were on the other side of this crisis. I’m incredibly proud of my team and our employees for their tireless work in continuing to distribute over 1.4 million loaves of bread and helping families to put food on the table amidst such adversity and hardship.”

H&S said its employees have and will continue to deliver donated products on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis to a broad range of organizations, including Baltimore City and County school programs, as well as faith-based groups and mom-and-pop relief operations. Charities that have received the company’s bread loaves over the past year include: Baltimore Hunger Project, Weekend Backpack, Salvation Army, Caring for Friends, Meals on Wheels, Student Support Network, YMCA, 4MyCity Charity, The Movement Team, Nourish Now, Moveable Feast, Helping Up Mission, Living Classrooms, POWER House, Our Daily Bread, Baltimore County’s Grocery Drive-and-Go, Highland Food Pantry, The Transformation Center, and Uproar Care Inc.

“When schools shut down in March of 2020, we went from serving 650 children to serving more than 2,300 children and their families within a matter of mere weeks,” said Lynne B. Kahn, founder and executive director of the Baltimore Hunger Project. “When I reached out to H&S Bakery about the jump in demand, they immediately offered to help. No questions asked. The H&S team has donated upwards of 2,000 fresh loaves of bread each week for the last year. Without their incredible support, continuing to operate in an impactful way during the pandemic would have been very difficult. It is because of their generosity that we could continue our life-changing mission of helping families and fighting against childhood hunger.”

H&S Bakery, which is affiliated with Northeast Foods and Schmidt Baking Co., said the increased demand for baked foods has led the company to expand its workforce over the past year at six of its locations in the Baltimore area.