Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, a local nonprofit working to identify and foster ways to rebuild the fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and sustain Maine’s fishing communities, has donated Maine Coast Monkfish Stew to the Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program to serve for its Christmas Eve lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24.
Maine Coast Monkfish Stew is a product of MCFA that is produced by Hurricane’s Premium Soups & Chowders in Greene to benefit MCFA’s Fishermen Feeding Mainers fish donation program. Fishermen Feeding Mainers is a program where MCFA purchases fish directly from fishermen and donates it to schools, food banks and community groups throughout the state. Over the past year and a half, the program has donated over 650,000 meals of sustainably sourced Maine seafood to those facing food insecurity. That includes MCHPP, which has received donations through the program since its inception in 2020 and also received a donation of stew for last year’s Christmas Eve meal.
“We consider ourselves very lucky to work with wonderful community partners like Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association,” said MCHPP’s Executive Director Karen Parker. “Each time they share their stew with us we receive such positive feedback from our soup kitchen guests; it’s a true treat. Coming together during the holidays to provide a festive meal is especially meaningful and we’re delighted to do it for a second year.”
In addition to addressing food insecurity in the state, Fishermen Feeding Mainers also supports Maine fishermen by offering them a fair price for their catch and generates consumer awareness of monkfish, a sustainably harvested species that is delicious but often overlooked in domestic markets.
“Maine’s fishing community needs consumers to embrace what’s coming across the dock in places like Portland, and as the weather turns colder, there is no better time to cozy up with a hot bowl of Monkfish Stew at home or at a local restaurant,” said MCFA’s Executive Director Ben Martens. “MCFA is pleased to provide the Stew to MCHPP’s soup kitchen, which has been a terrific partner in the FFM program, for their Christmas Eve meal for a second year in a row.”
Maine Coast Monkfish Stew is made with sustainably harvested monkfish along with Maine potatoes, carrots, cream and lobster stock. It is for sale in a retail box with a frozen 16-ounce, heat-and-serve pouch inside at over 60 locations throughout the state, including 11 Hannaford stores and Brunswick’s Morning Glory Natural Foods. It is also being served at a number of restaurants throughout the state including the Brunswick Diner and Portland’s Maine Medical Center’s Impressions Cafe.
For more information, including a full map of sales locations, visit mainecoastfishermen.org/monkfishstew.
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