By: Janeen Johnally

The Central Maryland Area Command dedicated two new disaster recovery vehicles in a ceremony held Feb. 3 at The Salvation Army's warehouse in Baltimore. The disaster trucks were a gift to the Army from FedEx. Major Gene Hogg, Central Maryland area commander, presided over the dedication ceremony, and Baltimore City Councilman John Bullock was the guest speaker.

Neil Gibson, corporate communications vice president for FedEx, said the gift reflected his company's support for the Army's work in communities. "FedEx is committed to building strong local communities, including those where our team members live and work. "Through our FedEx Cares program, we are proud to help The Salvation Army deliver positive change where it's needed most."

The disaster vehicles provide an immediate and much-needed upgrade to The Salvation Army's aging disaster fleet in Baltimore and are the same type of vehicles that served the community during the rioting and civil unrest the city experienced in April 2015 and again last year when flooding devastated parts of West Virginia and Maryland.

Also, as a result of the gift from FedEx, the Central Maryland Area Command is now able to expand Feedmore, its mobile feeding program to serve both east and west Baltimore six nights a week. The Feedmore outreach provides hot meals, toiletries, blankets and clothing to impoverished people in Baltimore. Currently, some 64,000 meals are served annually across the city through the Feedmore program, and the area command has projected that the new vehicles will allow Feedmore to increase the number of meals to 100,000 annually. In extreme weather conditions, the Army in Baltimore also prepares meals for the winter relief shelters upon request from city officials.