Food Pantry

Panel discusses how Maine families and children struggle with hunger and how we can take advantage of the existing infrastructure and available federal funding to help reduce hunger, including the federal Summer Food Service Program, subject of a forthcoming MECEP report. Host: Connie Zhu, MECEP Policy Analyst Guest(s): Ned McCann, Vice President, Maine Children’s Alliance; … Read more

A soon-to-be-released study indicates that a significant number of working families in Maine are reliant on soup kitchens and food pantries to meet their nutritional needs. The study of hundreds of families using food pantries in Cumberland County was undertaken by the Portland-based non-profit Preble Street. “Forty-two percent of the households we surveyed were working … Read more

People began lining up just after 9 a.m. Thursday outside Preble Street’s food pantry, waiting for the doors to open four hours later. But even as Preble Street, a multi-service agency serving homeless and low-income residents in the Portland area, sees demand rising for its food pantry and three soup kitchens, federal funding that helps … Read more

Some 83,000 Maine children quality for free of reduced school lunches. But what happens to them during the summer break, when schools are out and cafeterias are closed? Well, according to estimates, only 15 percent of qualifying children get summer meals. Today in Portland, anti-hunger groups announced the expansion of efforts in southern Maine to … Read more

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Two Americorps VISTA volunteers are working with the Preble Street Resource Center to help spread a nationwide campaign to end hunger. Shoshona Smith and Abby Farnahm will be working for the next year with the organization. They’ll be helping with fundraising efforts, and applying for grants. One of the key … Read more

The last three years have been an unending challenge for the people who distribute food to those in need. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 195,000 Maine residents struggled with "food insecurity," which means having difficulty providing enough food for their families. With nearly 15 percent of households in that category, organizations that supply … Read more

Six nonprofits are teaming up to expand food supplies to hungry Mainers and reverse the rise in the rate of people struggling to feed their families. Leaders of the coalition, called the Maine Hunger Initiative, hope to generate more funding and food donations for pantries, which are facing increasing demand. They also plan to push … Read more

In the cafeteria of the East End Community School in Portland, students carry lunch trays teeming with food to their tables–beef stew, string cheese, milk, and biscuits. What you don’t see is the fact that about three-quarters of the students qualify for free or discounted lunches. Hunger in Maine is a hidden crisis, according to … Read more

PORTLAND – Cumberland County may be well known as Maine’s most affluent county, but it has plenty of residents who are struggling to feed themselves and their families, according to a new report. The Campaign to Promote Food Security in Cumberland County is scheduled to release its report today after a yearlong study. It says … Read more

PORTLAND – Thanksgiving is a busy time at Preble Street, as at many homes across this country. Families and friends gather to catch up, share stories and build new histories together. And to eat. Food is a central part of Thanksgiving, ingrained in our cultural understanding of the holiday. For many Maine families, however, this … Read more