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Tackling the Root Causes of Hunger
Hunger is a systemic problem. It will take systemic solutions to end it.
Improving Systems that Support Food Access in 2022
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• $750,000 distributed to 41 organizations to fund culturally specific food-based projects
• Over $2 million granted to build capacity among partners
• Students at 11 universities enjoyed the first round of locally grown broccoli from Harvesting Good
• Worked with over 150 stakeholders to continue the commitment to Maine’s Roadmap to End Hunger by 2030.
• Nearly 180,000 Maine students in 569 schools accessed free breakfast and lunch, thanks to the passage and implementation of a universal school meals bill
Advocacy Advisory Council
In 2022, the Food Bank created the Advocacy Advisory Council to focus on identifying our advocacy priorities. The council comprises people with lived experience of hunger, Food Bank staff, members of the board of directors, and community-based organizations working to alleviate poverty.
While our work has historically focused on distributing food to meet the critical day-to-day needs of Mainers experiencing hunger, we know that food alone has not— and will not—solve the problem. Ending hunger for good, not just temporarily, requires addressing systemic issues— including barriers to employment, housing, education, health care, and more. It also requires understanding the disproportionate impact of hunger among households across racial, geographic, and other demographic lines.
This is why the Food Bank is rapidly advancing its root-cause work. Last year, we began increasing our investment in the research and advocacy that can influence change on the state and federal levels— including advocating for free school meals for all Maine students and SNAP benefit extensions. We also improved upon our commitment to center individuals and populations most impacted by hunger in our work and invested in increasing the capacity of partners around the state. These investments helped, in part, to inform our sourcing of the culturally relevant foods that people need to thrive.
