SACO
Bank donating to school meal programs
Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution (SBSI) will donate $17,982 to school nutrition programs in York and Cumberland counties through its Community Debit Card Program, providing meals for students in Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach, Saco, Scarborough, South Portland and Westbrook.
Even before COVID-19, Maine had the highest food insecurity rate in New England, at 13.6 percent. But the pandemic has put more people at risk. According to Feeding America, one in eight people in Maine struggle with hunger, including with one in five children. Hunger relief programs also have seen the demand for their services increase sharply. Statewide, these numbers are predicted to increase if the pandemic surges and the economic recovery stalls.
Donations to the program are primarily generated when SBSI customers swipe their Community Debit Cards for non-ATM transactions. This year’s total marks an increase of more than 25 percent compared to 2019, when the bank raised $14,299.
SBSI also will be matching up to $10,000 in donations made by customers participating in online banking to the Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine. SBSI recently partnered with the GoodCoin Foundation to implement its Charitable Giving Platform, allowing customers to directly donate to local nonprofits through the online banking portal.
To learn more about the Community Debit Card Program and the bank’s GoodCoin Charitable Giving Platform, go to sbsavings.bank/holiday-giving.
CARRABASSETT VALLEY
Library shifting winter hours
Carrabassett Valley Public Library has announced new operating hours during winter months.
The facility will now be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturdays and closed Sundays and Mondays at 3209 Carrabassett Dr. No. 3.
In-library visits are by appointment only, with a three-person limit inside the building and following strict COVID-19 protocol. Curbside pick-up and returns are available and there is a library return box out front offering 24/7 returns and Wi-Fi to search online services through Digital Maine Library for free ebooks and audiobooks through cloudLibrary, and streaming with Kanopy. Printing is offered via email. See the library’s Facebook posts for updated information.
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