As a hunger relief agency, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention provides our neighbors with access to fresh, healthy foods. Over the years, we have been able to add programs and increase service hours to continue meeting the growing needs in our community, with many thanks to the generous support of our donors.

Recently, after a busy morning processing food donations, a volunteer and I stood in the Food Pantry marveling at the striking abundance of product available that day. In amazement, she turned to me and asked, “Where does all this food even come from?” The answer is pretty simple, and when broken down tells an inspiring story.

Thanks to the growing support MCHPP has experienced, we have seen a 53% increase in food donations in the last 3 years. In 2017 alone, that growth translated into more than one million pounds of food donated and distributed across our programs. Because of the increased amount of donated food product, we have seen an 89 percent increase in the amount of healthful foods we are able to distribute.

Numerous volunteer drivers pick up food donations from corporate grocers such as Hannaford, Shaw’s, Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe’s. Every morning, six days a week, there is a steady stream of vans coming back with fresh, healthy food. Cumulatively, these grocers account for 80 percent of the food we distribute.

During harvest months, neighboring farms make up an important source of fresh, local, and sometimes organic produce. Throughout the season, volunteers at the Tom Settlemire Community Garden grow and donate hundreds of pounds of food for us. The Merrymeeting Gleaners and their hardworking team glean produce from several farmer’s markets in Mid Coast Maine, as well as local farms such as: Six River Farm, Scatter Good Farm, Turning Wheel, Whatley, Goranson, and so many more. Amazingly enough, there have been a handful of mornings where all the produce in our Food Pantry was from a local farm or garden. This allows us to not only uphold our mission to provide healthy food, but to also educate those who don’t already know how to cook a parsnip, or what an heirloom tomato looks like. Donations from local farms account for 5%.

Finally, food drives and other community food donations (Bowdoin

College, Edible Arrangements) account for 15 percent of our overall food donations. For well over two decades, the United States Postal Service has held an ambitious food drive in May, delivering thousands of pounds of nonperishable food items to MCHPP. Additionally, Stuff the Bus and Cram the Van, put on by local high school groups in the early spring months, also donate thousands of pounds annually. These kids meet in the early morning to plan the day, and collect donations for hours before driving it over to MCHPP.

All of these donors help us to meet our mission on a daily basis. They enable us to reduce the financial burden on families by providing free groceries to more than 1,300 households; to bring community members together by providing more than 45,000 free meals to those who visit our Soup Kitchen. We are able to give children the food they need to reach their full potentials in school, and to help them focus more on play and less on their next meal. It takes a village as they say, and we are very lucky to reap the benefits of our “village’s” support and generosity in the fight to end hunger.

EMMA ENOCH is the food bank coordinator for Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. GIVING VOICE is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in our community