Community Health & Hunger
Eliminating hunger with healthcare
In partnership with healthcare organizations across Maine, the Community Health and Hunger Program helps clinicians identify food-insecure patients and connects them with the nutritious food they need to live healthy lives.
Through the Community Health and Hunger Program, Good Shepherd Food Bank offers technical training for medical staff on how to screen for food insecurity, resources about where to find food in their service area for patients who are food-insecure, and nutritious grocery items for patients in immediate need to take home from the clinical visit at no cost.
Our impact in healthcare
140K
At risk for hunger
One in seven Mainers lack regular access to enough nutritious food to live a healthy life.
67%
Choose affordability
Food insecure families report purchasing more affordable but less nutritious food just to have enough.
160
Partner agencies
We have partnered with over 160 healthcare partners across the state to make meals more accessible.
10K
Mainers
Connected with nutritious and culturally relevant food through their healthcare provider.
625K
Meals
Provided to Mainers facing food insecurity.
Use the map to locate the Good Shepherd Food Bank-supported Healthcare Partner closest to you.
The impact of this program
Health Care Provider
“ We are very grateful to be able to participate in the program and feel it is very beneficial to our patients. ”
Health Care Provider
“ I’ve seen some elderly patients come in for other appointments that utilize the produce bags. I don’t know how they would have gotten food otherwise as they don’t have the transportation. ”
Health Care Provider
“ Very happy with our partnership with the Food Bank. We have received lots of support in the past that has benefited our community a great deal! ”
Patient
“ This project is wonderful. I was unaware of it until my doctor’s visit, and I was so thankful when they told me about it. I was thinking that whole day about what I was going to do for a meal that night, so it answered my prayers. ”
Healthcare Partnership Resources
Join us in our Community Health & Hunger efforts.
Partner Resources
Learn more about how you can better support your patients who are at risk for hunger.
Hunger Vital Signs
View and download Hunger Vital Signs
Food Safety Training
Train to inspect donated and purchased food, and to properly transport, store, and distribute food safely.
The Community Health & Hunger Team
Meet the team that supports our Community Health & Hunger programs.
Laura Vinal
Senior Manager of Community Initiatives
Laura Vinal, Senior Manager of Community Initiatives, oversees the Food Bank’s Youth and Families Initiative Programs and Community Health and Hunger Program, working with schools, afterschool programs, and healthcare organizations across Maine. In addition to program oversight, she supports various strategic initiatives focused on increasing food access in communities with limited or no access to the Food Bank’s partner network. She has extensive experience in project management and program design and is passionate about supporting initiatives promoting health equity.
Laura holds a B.S. in Middle/Secondary Education from the University of Maine Farmington. Before joining Good Shepherd Food Bank, she served in Peace Corps Ukraine, teaching K-12 English and leading curriculum development workshops at local universities.
She lives in Bowdoinham, Maine, with her husband and daughter and, in her free time, enjoys being outside, spending time with family and friends, and traveling when she can.
Martha Lefebvre
Community Health and Hunger Coordinator
As the Food Bank’s Community Health and Hunger Program Coordinator, Martha works very closely with Good Shepherd Food Bank’s healthcare partners. She coordinates resources for patients experiencing food insecurity, emergency food bags, and works with the partners to help implement Hunger Vital Signs™ Food Insecurity Screenings.
Martha is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Policy, Planning, and Management, and a certificate in Food Studies from the University of Maine’s Muskie School. She hopes to use her degree to strengthen Maine’s local food economy, and to increase food and land equity throughout the state. Martha is particularly interested in the environmental impact of the global food system, and the intersection of feminism and veganism.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her cat, Augie, and dog, Fievel, and enjoys the outdoors, cooking for friends, and traveling.