Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine Announces Investment of $100,000 to Combat Hunger in Biddeford
Media Contact: Allison Kenty
allison.kenty@mainehealth.org
BIDDEFORD, Maine – Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) and Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine announce the launch of the Community-Driven Strategies to End Hunger initiative in York County.
“In 2018, the Food Bank built upon existing work to divide Maine into 27 regions,” Shannon Coffin, Good Shepherd Food Bank’s vice president of community partnerships, stated. “We then used town-level food insecurity data and determined community-level meal gaps. Local experts come together with Good Shepherd Food Bank team members to identify solutions to the area’s unique food access challenges.”
The Food Bank focuses on two to three of the 27 regions each year. Cohort four is beginning this fall and includes Biddeford. Each region will develop its own environmental scans, identify key stakeholders, assess strengths and opportunities, host focus groups with those experiencing food insecurity, and create work plans for ending hunger in their communities.
“This investment by Good Shepherd Food Bank will assist our leaders and community members in the City of Biddeford to work together on solution focused work to combat hunger in our community.” said Betsy Kelly, Director of Community Health Improvement, SMHC.
The Food Bank’s Community-Driven Strategies to End Hunger initiative has supported projects/objectives in Lewiston, Portland suburbs, Northern Penobscot County, Washington County and Lincoln County. Cohort three is currently in progress and supports projects in Northern Kennebec County and Somerset County. Cohort four will begin this fall and will be supporting projects in Piscataquis County and the Biddeford area.
The kickoff meeting will be held on November 16th from 1-3 pm at SMHC’s Biddeford Medical Center. If you are interested in volunteering to be part of the solution to end hunger in Biddeford and Maine, please contact Kelly Roberts at Kelly.roberts@mainehealth.org .
For more information and a complete list of Community-Driven Strategies supported projects, please visit www.FeedingMaine.org.
###
About Southern Maine Health Care
Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) is an award-winning health care organization that includes a full service, acute care medical center in Biddeford and a medical center in Sanford with York County’s only inpatient behavioral health unit. Both medical centers offer 24/7 Emergency care, surgical and diagnostic services. SMHC offers primary care, specialty care, outpatient diagnostic and therapy services across York County and Walk-In Care centers in Kennebunk, Saco, Sanford and Waterboro. SMHC is Joint Commission accredited and is part of the MaineHealth system, a growing family of health care services in northern New England with a non-profit mission dedicated to “improving the health of our patients and communities by providing high-quality affordable care, educating tomorrow’s caregivers, and researching better ways to provide care.” To learn more, visit www.smhc.org.
About Good Shepherd Food Bank
As the largest hunger-relief organization in Maine, Good Shepherd Food Bank supports Mainers facing hunger by sourcing nutritious food and distributing it to nearly 600 partner organizations across the state, including food pantries, meal sites, schools, health care centers, and senior programs. The Food Bank also supports the network of partners with capacity-building and innovation grants that improve and promote equitable and dignified access to nutritious food across the state. Last year, the Food Bank distributed more than 29 million meals through its network of partners, and strategically invested $4.2 million in grants to the network of partners. The Food Bank leads a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships and is currently leading a $250 million Campaign to End Hunger in Maine.
