PORTLAND — The end of expanded food assistance benefits, coupled with rising food costs, has created an enormous challenge for Mainers trying to put food on the table. As schools let out for the summer, this is particularly concerning for children and families who will lose access to school meals until the fall.
To help meet those needs, the John T. Gorman Foundation has granted over $500,000 to 14 organizations working to address food insecurity throughout the state. These grants are in addition to the $1.5 million in grants to address basic needs, such as food security, through the foundation’s Direct Service Grant Program.
The funding aims to support partners in three ways: raising awareness about the location and availability of summer meal programs across the state while piloting innovative ways to increase engagement at these sites; strengthening the efforts of Maine’s largest food bank to reach children and families; and offering targeted support to organizations in the five Maine counties with the highest rates of child food insecurity.
The grants have been awarded as follows:
Full Plates Full Potential: A $105,000 grant will support the piloting of innovative efforts at three summer meal sites to increase participation in the food assistance program. The grant will also pay for a statewide radio public service announcement promoting hotlunchsummer.com, where Mainers can find their nearest summer meal site.
Good Shepherd Food Bank: A $150,000 grant will support the Youth and Family Initiatives program, which expands access to nutritious food for Maine children and families experiencing food insecurity, with a focus on meeting the nutritional needs of children during the time they are most likely to experience hunger: after school, weekends, school vacations, and during the summer.
Food pantries in Aroostook, Oxford, Piscataquis, Somerset, and Washington Counties. A total of $250,000 of funding will go to support food pantries in five Maine counties with the highest rates of food insecurity. In each of these counties, the rates of child food insecurity exceed 20%, and are the highest rates in New England.
Aroostook: $35,000 will go to Catholic Charities, $15,000 will go to Fish River Rural Health
Oxford: $15,000 will go to Bethel Area District Exchange & Food Pantry, $10,000 for River Valley Health Communities Coalition, $25,000 for the Food Pantry at Stephens Memorial Hospital
Piscataquis: $40,000 for Piscataquis Regional Food Center, $10,000 for Heart of Maine Resource Center
Somerset: $10,000 for Common Unity Place, $30,000 for Somerset Career & Technical Center (which has a food pantry that serves students), $10,000 for People Who Care Food Cupboard
Washington: $25,000 for Machias Area Food Pantry, $25,000 for Maine Seacoast Mission
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