Food banks and pantries face challenges at the beginning of each new year due to lower donations and higher demand on the heels of the holiday season.

An unlikely business has stepped up for a donation drive, offering to match any donation up to $1,000 made in January, and they’re calling out their competitors to open their wallets.

The owners of Highbrow, a medical and adult-use cannabis company, have given donations to the Bath Area Food Bank in the past.

“We really feel like it is important to give back to the folks that are there for us every day and have supported us every step of the way,” said Highbrow Executive Officer Richelle Brossi.

Brossi spoke with the executive director of the Bath Area Food Bank, Kimberly Gates, in November 2024 about matching donations made by other cannabis retailers.

“Everybody is trying to pay off their bills, food is getting expensive and most people have already made their donations for the year, so this was the perfect time to do it,” Gates said.

According to a 2023 report from Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed under United Way of Mid Coast Maine, around 38% of people living in Sagadahoc County are living in poverty, with 1,343 people at risk of becoming homeless or experiencing homelessness accessing support, safe shelter and resources to find housing between 2023 and 2024.

Before the pandemic, the Bath Food Bank was distributing food to 175 to 200 families, and now the nonprofit is serving over 600 families.

Any money donated to the food bank will go toward whatever the nonprofit needs to stock the pantry.

“There are not as many grants to go around as there were so many years ago, so it’s all very difficult to get the funding,” Gates said.