Dear Fellow Marylanders,
On this Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrate a quintessential American holiday. Traditions may vary from table to table, but the core construct of family and friends coming together to give thanks for the blessings in our lives.
President George Washington set the first “Day of Publick Thanksgivin” in November 1789, which included rendering “our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed.”
President Abraham Lincoln is credited with issuing the first proclamation declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday, writing in October 1863: “I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving.”
President Franklin Roosevelt tried to move Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, to give Americans more time to shop for the Christmas holiday when Thanksgiving landed on the last day of the November. Thirty-two states joined in the move but 16 states refused. It took an act of Congress to settle the matter and standardize the fourth Thursday of November as the national holiday – starting in 1942.
This year, President Joe Biden reminded us all that during the holiday season “We also keep in our hearts those who have lost so much, who will have an empty seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table.”
Alongside the joy of the holiday season, can be pain and loneliness for those lost or estranged. The elderly and recent veterans may have difficulty, as well as our military men and women courageously defending our nation around the globe but far from their family and friends. I urge you to check in on your neighbors, send a card to a service member or perhaps stop by a senior center to bring a few moments of joy to those who would love to share a story or a piece of sweet potato pie.
A holiday steeped in an abundance of food also adds pressure and anguish to the estimated 47 million Americans — 1 in 8 — who are food insecure, meaning they lack reliable access to nutritious and affordable food. This includes 14 million children, as well as seniors, veterans, and families in nearly every community.
In Maryland alone, there are more than 880,000 people who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This federal program provides support to low-income individuals and families to help with basic groceries and healthy foods.
To put food on their tables, more than 50 million Americans turned to food pantries and other charitable programs last year, according to Feeding America. The nationwide group says that a recent survey of food banks showed 90 percent report “seeing either an increase or steady demand for food assistance in August 2024 compared to July 2024.”
Thankfully, in this season of giving, Marylanders are pitching in to support local efforts like the Maryland Food Bank, which distributes more than 53 million pounds of food to people facing hunger annually, as well as the Capital Area Food Bank, with its 400 local partners. These are not permanent solutions for those struggling to pay bills and keep food on their tables, but a crucial effort to fill a void in our community. It will take an ongoing partnership between government, at all levels, and the private sector to end food insecurity and hunger.
Thank you for your time. Please feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts on this or any other topic. As my tenure in the United States Senate winds down, I cherish every opportunity to hear from Marylanders.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Ben Cardin
