Many people will remember the emergency shelters that were set up in the greater Portland area in 2019 to support an influx of African migrants. Since then, families have moved throughout the state to more permanent housing options, including many to the Brunswick area. In Brunswick, a long list of service providers, including Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, came together to support the growing immigrant population in our region.

In 2022, 4.1% of Maine residents were foreign-born, and in some communities around Portland and Lewiston-Auburn, about 10% of residents were born outside the United States. However, over 20% of households using MCHPP’s grocery programs are foreign-born, with most coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, and a growing number from South America. These statistics show the disproportionate need of asylum-seeking households who might lack affordable housing, employment opportunities and social service benefits.

I want to acknowledge the hard work of local service providers, who have worked tirelessly to acquire affordable housing, offer general assistance, free health care, education, job training and more. I also want to thank the local farmers for changing their harvests to ensure families have access to culturally appropriate foods, as well as the growing number of employers hiring those with work permits. Additionally, I don’t want to overlook the difficulties many Mainers currently face in meeting their basic needs for similar reasons. To end hunger by 2030, systemic policy issues facing all Mainers must be addressed.

I am writing now to give voice to the many immigrant families that are struggling and whose long journeys are far from over. Although the original goal after emergency shelters was to find sustainable housing, the affordable housing offered to 60 families in Brunswick is only secured for a few years — leaving many families with uncertain housing futures. When MCHPP completed a program survey with Food Pantry guests this summer, immigrant respondents reported a much higher level of overall stress than our general population. Digging into this trend, I learned that families are worried that what they currently have could be taken away and fear for the longevity of the stability they feel now. Ensuring working adults have adequately paying jobs is a starting point, which is good timing for Maine’s expanding economy. According to the Office of New Americans, the state’s economy is growing more rapidly than its workforce. The state’s Economic Development Strategy underscored the need to add 75,000 individuals to the workforce by 2030, and the ONA sees the growing immigrant population as a part of the economic solution.

There are many other ways to support these efforts. MCHPP works hard to do so through our Farm to Pantry Program supporting immigrant farms and through our Community Kitchen partnering with businesses that are owned or support people of color. Helping the immigrant population in our area start or grow their businesses is incredibly meaningful in our effort to support a sustainable community.

At the core of our mission, MCHPP is excited to assist so many families settling in our region, ensuring that despite all of the challenges they have and will continue to face, any family can access free, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods. And we are committed to creating a space where everyone is welcome and comfortable seeking services. However, we are only one small part of the much larger and complex puzzle of helping our newest Mainers, and it takes networks like the ones in Brunswick, access to more affordable housing and employment opportunities to ensure sustainability, success and self-sufficiency.

Heather Arvidson is the program director at Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program.