SALISBURY — Food Lion will donate nearly $18,000 in food and gift cards this week to local food bank and agency partners to help nourish hundreds of federal workers in the Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C., areas affected by the partial government shutdown.

The donation, to be made through the grocer’s hunger relief platform, Food Lion Feeds, will help families during a time when they are faced with making tough choices on how to feed their families.

“Helping our neighbors in the towns and cities we serve is at the core of who we are and what we do at Food Lion,” said Food Lion President Meg Ham. “In addition to supporting food banks in the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas, we remain in close contact with all of our food bank partners in locations across our 10-state service area to ensure we are ready to assist with increased need in the communities we all serve.”

Food Lion Feeds is donating 1,500 food boxes to the Maryland Food Bank. The food bank staff are planning to distribute the boxes to federal workers at pop-up events starting next Saturday in the Maryland region. Details will be available early next week on Food Lion and Maryland Food Bank social media channels.

Additionally, Food Lion Feeds is donating $10,000 in Food Lion gift cards to be distributed among Maryland Food Bank, one of its agencies — Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) — and Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank.