Elizabeth House is a nonprofit food pantry and soup kitchen in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

. It was founded in 1988 and is managed by Fish of Laurel.

History

The Elizabeth House was founded in 1988 and is named after a volunteer veteran Elizabeth "Betty" Colnaghi. In the 1970s, Colnaghi began using her basement as a food pantry to serve low-income residents of the Laurel area. This later grew to include emergency financial aid and transportation. Since the 1990s, leadership at the Elizabeth House has disputed with City of Laurel Officials including City Administrator Ernest Saccanelli and Police Chief Roy Gilmore over how to best help the homeless population. Elizabeth House director, Robert Colnaghi stated that the two officials told him "we should not serve those people from Howard County that we're a magnet for homeless people from Anne Arundel, Howard and Montgomery counties." Saccanelli believes the services offered by social programs including the Elizabeth House attract more homeless to the city. The Elizabeth House serves people in

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

, Howard County, and

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...

. The number of people supported by the organization has grown since its foundation.

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

collect donations that provide additional support in the holiday season. In August 1995, Elizabeth House served approximately 50 to 75 homeless people a night. According to Laurel officials, in 1995, the Elizabeth House served roughly 70 to 90 people annually. In November 2011, the Elizabeth House provides three bags of groceries to 20 families a week and 40 bagged lunches a week. In total, its 240 bags of groceries and 1,120 hot meals and bagged lunches a month. The former Laurel Mall hosted food drives to benefit the Elizabeth House.

References

{{Authority control 1988 establishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Laurel, Maryland Food banks in Maryland Charities based in Maryland Organizations established in 1988

History

See also

References