It's Back to School for Maine
Kids
Far too many children in Maine experience hunger!
Many have reported to our agencies that there is seldom
enough food in the house, especially on
weekends. Over and over again, we have heard from
teachers that their students try hard to
pay attention in class, but they often feel
sick in
the morning... Monday's are the worst.
Before we can nourish our children's minds,
we must
first nourish
their bodies.
Our statewide network of nearly 600
non-profit agencies offer programs and services to feed
hungry children after school and on weekends... And You make this all
possible! When you partner with GSFB,
your contributions of time and financial support greatly
help children right in your own community. We are
extremely grateful for your ongoing generosity and
dedication. Each and every day, our staff is amazed as
we witness and participate in the synergy of thousands
of partners working together to feed Maine's hungry.
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Opinion Page Investigative
Series
From the pages of
Kennebec Journal comes "one of the most ambitious
projects ever undertaken by this
newspaper."
"For
I was hungry" series documents the depth and
breadth of hunger in Maine, from the dramatic increase
in food pantries to the thousands of children who come
to school hungry to the elderly with bare
cupboards.
The series not only reports the facts
of hunger in Maine, but also editorializes about what
should be done about this sad and urgent
problem.
View the series
here>
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Agency
Spotlight
 In an area famous for
potatoes and broccoli sits a small town in the northeast
corner of Aroostook County. Originally, Fort Fairfield,
was established to protect the area during the Aroostook
War. Today, a different war is being fought here... the
war on hunger.
Stephen Lewis, Shawn
Murchison and a small army of volunteers have taken the
town by storm, establishing Friends Helping Friends Food
Pantry in the Fall of 2006. With Fort Fairfield's
poverty level of 13.7%, approximately 480 people from
newborn to elderly have to face food insecurity on a
daily basis."I used to wonder if somebody was going to
help... then I realized I am that somebody" says
director Steve Lewis.
Now, the majority of
households are being served! Good Shepherd Food Bank and
Catholic Charities in Caribou are partnering to keep the
shelves full.You can feel the electricity in the air
when you enter the town. Find out what all the
excitement is about
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Partnership
Matters
 UNUM Goes
Over the Top
to Help Good Shepherd
Food-Bank
When UNUM's
312 employees of the Portland Regional Benefits
Operations learned of Good Shepherd's increased need
during summer months, particularly for kid-friendly
foods, they took the challenge to form a fun competition
among their staff members & teams.
Their
July "Focus on
Fruit" Food Drive resulted in a total of 2,210
cans of various types of fruit collected in an office
designated as "The Fruit
Cube". In addition to monetary gifts of $602 from
employees, UNUM also contributed a donation of $1,000.
Maria Long, Sr. Clinical Consultant for UNUM
said: "Words cannot express the satisfaction and joy
that resulted from the giving of unselfish donations of
canned fruit, money, and time. Goals were consistently
exceeded and though each team competed against one
another, we declared everyone a winner."
Thank you UNUM for
donations and gifts. You have helped make Maine Kids the
real winners through your generosity!
 CMP employees chip in
to
feed Maine's Hungry
GSFB was
better able to serve the needs of Maine's hungry this
summer, thanks to many generous donations from CMP
employees.
Recently, employees from Central
Maine Power's - Service Centers, Substations,
Transmission & Distribution Support, and the North
Augusta Service Center collected 400 pounds of food and
$525 in cash, enabling us to distribute an additional
$6,500 worth of food to pantries and soup
kitchens.
The drive started when Good Shepherd
Food-Bank approached CMP seeking help in communicating
the increased need for donations through the summer
months. Full
story>
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Receipt Rewards -
The
Sky's The Limit!
Everybody has to shop for food,
but now grocery shopping means you can also help raise money
for Good Shepherd Food-Bank and help those who struggle to get
food! Shaw's Receipt Rewards Program will return 1% of your purchases to
our organization!
No limit to the amount of register
receipts you can collect and submit!
Just mail
us your complete, original receipts dated after January 30,
2007. Please do not cut off the bottom of the receipts
(where the date is printed) You may black out any debit or
credit information that may be printed.
Tell your
family, friends, business associates, relatives, neighbors,
and anyone who shops at a Shaw's or Star
Market! |
"Fill the
Semi"
Labor Day Weekend Food &
Fund Drive
Friday, August 31st through Monday,
September 3rd at the Wal-Mart Parking lot located
at:
24 Walton Dr,
Brewer.
We will be
collecting non-perishable items and
other basic supplies. The most needed items
include:
Tuna, Chicken, Ham &
other Canned Meats, Peanut Butter, Pasta,
Canned Vegetables, Beef Stew, Personal Hygiene / Paper
Products.
Additionally, each $1 collected at the
event can provide more than $12.50 worth of food to our
pantries, and a $10 gift can provide 48
meals. |
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