OXFORD HILLS -Wendy Bornsgeest and her son Braydon made it to lunch at the Oxford Regency in the nick of time. Last Friday, just as volunteers for the Oxford Hills summer meals program were starting to pack up and other children were slowly drifting home, Wendy and Braydon drove up, after speeding back from a … Read more
MECHANIC FALLS – The RSU 16 Summer Meals program held its first meal at Elm Street School on Friday with an 8 a.m. pancake breakfast and a barbecued chicken lunch – plus some fun and games. "We just wanted to let people know we’re here and to learn more about what we do," said Betty … Read more
Lunch is in when school is out. Thanks to a cooperative effort between the Preble Street Maine Hunger Initiative, the Liberty Family Foundation (LFF) and the MSAD 15 Food Service Department, kids in Gray and New Gloucester have access to free lunch for the summer. Beginning on June 24, and continuing through August 16, every … Read more
The recent "Face of Hunger" workshop in Saco was an important step in solving the problem of food insecurity in this area by bringing together some of the entities that are combating this serious problem. Four panelists and more than 30 attendees took part in the workshop, at which they discussed the problem of hunger … Read more
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Maine’s Androscoggin County has received a federal grant of $10,000 to combat hunger and homelessness and to help families in economic crisis. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says this is on top of previously announced dollars. One county soup kitchen says lunch counts increased from 1,500 in September 2011 to 2,500 in … Read more
PORTLAND – According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with just over 15 percent of Maine households considered food insecure, Maine is the 13th hungriest state in the nation and hungriest in the region. Bowdoin College student Emma Johnson, 20, is trying to change that by educating people in greater Portland about resources available to … Read more
Panelists discuss the crucial role federal nutrition assistance plays in stemming child hunger in Maine. In half of the state’s schools, 50% or more of students are eligible for subsidized lunches. In one in seven Maine schools, 70% or more of students qualify for the National School Lunch Program. Host: Garrett Martin, MECEP Executive Director … Read more
Ask any school administrator and you’ll find the sad truth is many kids today have their nutritional needs met mostly by the schools, through healthy lunches in the cafeterias and maybe snacks at other times. Busy parents and a tough economy has left many home kitchens without as frequent or nutritional a mealtime schedule. So … Read more
Recently selected for summer placements in nonprofits throughout Maine’s midcoast, this year’s Community Matters in Maine fellows gathered recently to hear more about what to expect from the best source: alumni of the program. The students selected for the program met in Adams Hall with last year’s fellows Dan Peckham ’12 and Amar Patel ’13. … Read more
Working at the Preble Street Resource Center, a day shelter, soup kitchen, and food pantry for homeless and low-income community members, my position as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps has opened my eyes to the social isolation and invisibility that often accompanies poverty. "People go out of their way to walk … Read more
