More than 80% of children in Maine, or about 4 out of every 5 children in the state, live in a household that benefited from the monthly Child Tax Credit payments that started in July. These payments reduced child hunger and poverty as families overwhelmingly spent the money on necessities such as food and childcare.

Now that these payments have an uncertain future and we have a winter full of unknowns ahead of us, we at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program want to reaffirm our commitment to providing all members of our community with access to healthy food.

We sometimes hear that someone is hesitant to visit because they feel that their need is not as great as the needs of other people in the community. To this we say: everyone is welcome at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Come to the food pantry and save money on your groceries each week. There is more than enough for everyone.

Each guest of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Programhas a different story. All of these and more are perfectly acceptable reasons to access services at MCHPP or your local hunger prevention organization. In a given day we might provide food, and peace of mind, to:

• A grandmother whose three grandchildren just moved in;
• A man whose rent went up;
• A couple who had to start dipping into their savings to pay for groceries and bills;
• A parent who was able to save up the deposit for a new apartment to get out of a bad living situation and provide a safe space for her child;
• An expecting couple working to pay off their debt so their child can have a better future;
• A person saving up to renew their car registration;
• A single parent who’s been unexpectedly laid off despite working through the pandemic;
• A person with arthritis that makes it difficult to get out of the house;
• A family with three kids worried about paying for heat this winter with one income since one parent must now provide full-time childcare;
• You or anyone you know that could benefit from free groceries or meals

As we look forward to 2022, we want to thank you for sticking with us through another challenging year. We leave you with these wise words from Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program volunteer John Lucas: “Everybody can’t go save the world. But you can help with your little piece. And if everybody did their little piece, the world would be saved.”

Ari van den Akker is the communications coordinator at 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 the community. 

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