An introduction from Former President Kristen Miale

Transcript:

Hello and welcome to Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine’s Food Safety Training Course.

As Maine’s largest hunger-relief organization, we partner with a network of more than 500 agencies throughout the state to ensure our neighbors who are facing hunger have access to the nutritious food they need to thrive in close partnership with food pantries, meal sites, schools, and healthcare centers across the state.

We have grown our annual food distribution by 160% over the last decade. Together with community partners, elected officials, and dedicated supporters, we are making meaningful progress and ending hunger, and improving the lives of thousands of Mainers. Without your support and willingness to do what it takes, our work would not be possible. Thank you for being the frontline. Thank you for the work that you do day in and day out. We could not do our work without you.

We know you share our commitment to putting people experiencing hunger at the center of our work, and you live this value every day with every kind word you provide, every check-in every smile, you are delivering so much more than food.

As you know, food safety is extremely important in the work that we all do each and every day. The clients we assist frequently fall into potentially high-risk and vulnerable populations, infants, children, the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals who suffer from chronic illness or are malnourished, physically disabled, or have compromised immune systems. We know that you know the importance of food safety.

The following videos will build an even stronger foundation of knowledge to help in your everyday interactions with people coming to your site for help. Again, we cannot express this enough. Thank you.