Good Shepherd to invest $100,000 in Piscataquis County's ‘end hunger’ drive
Courtesy / Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine
Piscataquis Regional Food Center, seen here during a distribution, is partnering with Good Shepherd Food Bank on an end-hunger initiative.
Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization is teaming with Piscataquis Regional Food Center, a Dover-Foxcroft nonprofit founded in 2017, to launch a new initiative to end hunger in Piscataquis County.
Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine and Piscataquis Regional Food Center announced the Community-Driven Strategies to End Hunger initiative this week.
“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, said in a news release. “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 Piscataquis County. 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 in our county means that our agencies, thought leaders and patrons can work together to find solutions tailored to combat hunger in our communities,” said Kelly Sirimoglu, Piscataquis Regional Food Center’s executive director. “Piscataquis County has challenges that may not exist in other parts of the state, and when we approach the problem with local knowledge, we are much more likely to be successful.”
The Good Shepherd initiative has previously supported projects in Lewiston, the 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.
Good Shepherd sources nutritious food and distributes 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 partners with capacity-building and innovation grants that improve and promote equitable and dignified access to nutritious food across the state.
In 2021, Good Shepherd distributed more than 31.6 million meals through its network of partners, and invested $4.4 million in grants to its partners. It is currently leading a $250 million Campaign to End Hunger in Maine.
Over 180,000 Mainers rely on Good Shepherd Food Bank and its partners.
Good Shepherd has said its goal is to provide access to nutritious food to all those struggling with hunger by 2025. The organization works with food donors, philanthropic supporters and local partners across the state.
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