Food-Bank Receives JTG Foundation Grant
Grant will be used to increase the quality and distribution of food in Maine
November 9, 2009 - Auburn, ME – The JTG Foundation has awarded Good Shepherd Food-Bank with a two year grant in the amount of $300,000 to be used to improve the way the Food-Bank acquires and distributes food, and to open promising new food channels within Maine to help eliminate hunger throughout the state.
With the JTG Foundation grant funds the Food-Bank will seek to:
- Focus on opening local food channels to provide help to growing numbers of Maine families and individuals whose budgets are insufficient to meet their food needs. This is a statewide need that cuts across every population group in both urban and rural settings.
- Improve the quality of distributed food to help Maine families in need gain greater access to fresher, more nutritious foods that will help alleviate health problems related to poor diets.
- Increase the amount of food obtained through processing programs in Maine for year-round distribution of Maine-grown fruits and vegetables, frozen and canned meat and fish products, and dairy products such as cheese.
- Provide economic incentives for Maine farmers, dairy operators and food processors to form sustainable partnerships with us in eliminating hunger in Maine.
“While the challenges of relieving food insecurities and hunger in the state, especially among children and the elderly, continue to escalate, the timing of this major grant award couldn’t be better. It gives us all the hope, the means and the flexibility for meeting these challenges. It gives us the resources to take some giant steps toward fundamental changes that will improve the distribution of food to our 600-plus partners in feeding Maine’s hungry. I think much of this would not have been possible without the Foundation’s help,” stated Rick Small, executive director of the Food-Bank.
Good Shepherd Food-Bank provides over one million meals a month to families and individuals in Maine through a network of more than 600 partner agencies. Partner agencies include soup kitchens, shelters, after school programs, food pantries, day care centers, senior centers, and youth programs.
