Jeremy is just one of the many senior citizens in Maine who are having to make hard choices this winter. Jeremy has worked all his life and had never been to a food pantry before, but with the greatly increased heating costs, there just wasn't enough money to both stay warm and pay for food. Read full story... A new year is under way. For thousands of Maine families, it means three or more difficult winter months. It means being both cold and hungry. It is Good Shepherd Food-Bank's mission to secure and distribute the much needed supplies of food for the  thousands who are at risk of hunger in Maine. As a partner in this mission, you play an essential role in eliminating unnecessary suffering for thousands of our neighbors. With Your Partnership, we are making a real and unforgettable difference in their lives! YOUR DOLLARS, ALREADY AT WORK! GSFB recently announced major cost savings for our partner agencies during this critical time of need! In memory of JoAnn Pike, and thanks to the generosity of financial and food donors over the holiday season, the following changes have been made possible and will be in effect through the end of February: GSFB is prepared to distribute 25% MORE food during the next five weeks. This is in response to the 25% increase experienced by our statewide agencies. More truckloads of healthy, nutritious product have already been secured for delivery. Included are high demand items: meats, pasta, produce and more! This special program is projected to bring an additional quarter of a million pounds of food to the tables of those in need at this time of year! ALL agency "Shared Maintenance Fees" have been reduced to our 1996 rate of 13 cents per pound.  Thousands of items are completely FREE to agencies - GSFB will absorb all associated delivery/operating costs. STAY TUNED: MORE GOOD NEWS ON THE WAY!  GSFB will purchase and make available several FREE upright FREEZERS to help agencies to store & distribute up to an additional 600 pounds of frozen product to better meet the needs of their communities. This special program is estimated to save hundreds of thousands of dollars for our network of over 600 hunger relief agencies statewide. Pictured: Marcel Caron, Nutrition Manager for Seniors Plus (left) and Jason Hall, GSFB's Director of Agency Relations. SECURING MORE FOOD Introducing Patti Butler, Food Resource Developer We are pleased to announce our newest staff member, Patti Butler, as Food Resource Developer. Patti's primary responsibility will be to actively pursue new sources of surplus and salvage food and to serve as a liaison to our existing pool of 200+ food and product suppliers. Patti is dedicated to ensuring that we are most efficient in our processes for receiving donated goods. Prior to assuming this new position, Patti was an independent grant-writing consultant to several non-profit agencies in Maine, including Good Shepherd Food-Bank.  PARTNERSHIP MATTERS In December, Wal-Mart Distribution Center Mangers conducted a Food & Fund Drive to benefit GSFB. A total of 4,195 lbs of food was collected, an average of 5.6 lbs per employee. In addition, the Managers had a competition between departments and upon completion of the time frame the "loosing" team was assigned to spending half the day at GSFB sorting salvage food. Actually, BOTH teams signed up to volunteer at GSFB for the half day... thank you Walmart!  They also generously presented Freezer clothing for GSFB's cooler & freezer staff AND a check in the amount of $500. Our thanks go out to Andrew Poore, Executive Director, and staff members of Flagship Cinema in Auburn for extending their support of GSFB throughout the month of December.  Three Holiday classics were shown on the BIG 35' screen, making fun and new memories for families to enjoy!  In addition to hundreds of pounds of non-perishables collected at the door, monetary donations received will turn into more than 500 meals for our community! LL Bean Retail is a busy place during the Holiday Season, but that didn't stop members of the Retail Department from volunteering time at GSFB during December.  Participants helped with sorting food, and many other projects! Our thanks goes out for their commitment to community and their friendship to GSFB!  Pictured: L.L.Bean employees label cans of Beans for distribution. What could be more appropriate!? Winter Brings New Challanges Your Dollars At Work Securing More Food Partnership Matters Quick Links Get Involved About GSFB Agency Listing eNews Archive Make A Gift Food Drive and Free Tickets The Portland Sea Dogs will conduct their annual food drive to benefit GSFB and offer free tickets. more>   February 3rd through March 1st - Hannaford Supermarkets will hold their 5th annual "Have A Heart For Hunger" Campaign. The register program gives associates and customers an option of choosing a $2 or $5 donation coupon at the register. One hundred percent of donations raised are used to help local food banks in their service areas. Last year, Hannaford customers raised more than $13,000 to benefit Good Shepherd Food-Bank. Hannaford Supermarket's have a long standing commitment to fight hunger through the support of this program and through food donations that exceed eight million pounds each year! What if Good Shepherd Food-Bank had a penny for every time you searched the Internet... Now we can! Just go to: www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Good Shepherd Food Bank as the charity you want to support.  500 people searching four times a day will raise about $7300 in a year without anyone spending a dime!