Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program’s warehouse and administrative facility at 179 Neptune Dr. Courtesy photo
GIVING VOICE — For many of us, the past year at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program has felt like a waiting game. Waiting for zoning changes, building plans, freezers, food and just about everything else. We learned again and again that our small corner of the world is not exempt from disruptions in the global supply chain. But now, as we write to you today, we’re reminded of the many ways in which MCHPP grew and succeeded during this time.
The programs that were born out of or expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic have come into their own and are flourishing. Mobile Pantry sites at Lisbon High School (on the first and third Sundays of each month), the Harpswell Town Office (every Thursday), and Bowdoin Central School (on the second Thursday of each month) bring food closer to home for our more rural neighbors. Satellite Pantries, run in partnership with the Brunswick and Bath Housing Authorities, give seniors and other residents consistent access to healthy food within their housing complexes. Neighborhood Deliveries and the Pantry-to-Pantry program reach dozens of families and homebound individuals each week with groceries delivered straight to their front door.
Transportation and stigma are commonly cited as major challenges to receiving food assistance — these programs mark huge strides in MCHPP’s efforts to overcome barriers to food access.
Next year, MCHPP turns 40. Our agency, and the world, have changed immensely since we opened our doors in 1983. But, through it all, our commitment to providing healthy food to anyone in need in an accessible and dignified manner has remained constant.
Expansion into our new facility at Brunswick Landing will increase our internal programmatic capacity, while simultaneously allowing us to better support our smaller partners’ work to meet the changing needs of their communities.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in making this growth possible. To mark the opening of our warehouse and administrative facility at 179 Neptune Dr., we would like to welcome you to a ribbon-cutting celebration at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14. We are excited to share this next phase in our agency’s growth with our community and we hope to see you there.
Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local nonprofit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.
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