Good Shepherd Food Bank gets $3M to buy food locally
File Photo / William Trevaskis
Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank, Maine's largest food provider. She's pictured in the food bank's Auburn warehouse.
The Good Shepherd Food Bank was awarded $3 million by the Finance Authority of Maine to purchase locally sourced produce and seafood to be distributed to hunger relief programs across the state through its Mainers Feeding Mainers program.
“Our farm partners are providing us with top quality, nutritious food for our neighbors in need,” Good Shepherd Food Bank President Kristen Miale, a 2015 Mainebiz Woman to Watch, said in a statement. “This funding will allow us to expand our work with Maine farmers, putting money back into local communities and help us distribute healthier options to families that are having trouble putting food on the table. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
The funding, which comes from the Fund for a Healthy Maine, was made available as a result of legislation titled “Resolve, To Facilitate the Distribution of Food Harvested in Maine to Residents with Food Insecurity” passed in the spring of 2016.
The law requires FAME to contract with an organization that will purchase, process, store and transport fresh and frozen produce and seafood harvested in Maine in order to increase access to these foods for food-insecure residents.
“The Friends of the Fund for a Healthy Maine are proud to support this effort to increase access to affordable, healthy foods in communities, especially among economically disadvantaged populations,” Tina Pettingill, chair of the Friends of the Fund for a Healthy Maine, said in a statement. “Increasing access to healthy foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, can lead to increased consumption of these foods, which has demonstrated impacts on not only hunger but also preventing disease and reducing obesity.”
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