Increasing Food Access in Downeast Maine
With support from the Good Shepard Food Bank, Mano en Mano has opened a food pantry!
Community members have voiced ongoing concern about the lack of culturally nourishing foods available at stores in the area. Many families cannot access foods that are familiar to them, or have a difficult time finding the ingredients to prepare dishes that have traditional and sentimental value.
Increasing access to food, especially to culturally nourishing foods, has been a priority of our Access to Essential Services program for many years. Last year, through our partnership with the Maine Seacoast Mission and the Good Shepard Food Bank, our team was able to distribute 1,784 boxes of food to both local and seasonal members of the Downeast community.
The food pantry has opened during a significant increase in consumer pricing nationwide. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices in New England rose by an average of 5 percent from June 2020 to June 2021, with the price for food increasing 1.9%. This spike in price increases the barriers that many people face when purchasing and accessing food.
Mano en Manos work distributing food boxes has connected thousands of people to food in the area, but the food pantry will provide a centralized location and continual access for everyone. Additionally, the food pantry will offer fresh veggies from the Rayitos de Sol garden in the warmer months to come.
Laura Thomas, Access to Essential Services and Advocacy programs director shares,
“Food is a powerful force. I don’t think I realized the impact the pantry would have, or the true need of providing a space to access culturally relevant foods like maseca and others. It has been fantastic to see the reaction from community members. We are going to work to keep it stocked with food items that our community needs and are always open to suggestions!”
We asked community members to share what their experience with the food pantry has been so far. They said:
La despensa de alimentos es importante para mi familia porque además de encontrar alimentos saludables como leche y fruta también podemos encontrar productos nutritivos y culturales difíciles de encontrar, además de estar cerca de la comunidad y podemos ir con el personal que ya conocemos y confiamos. Gracias.
The food pantry is important to my family because in addition to finding healthy foods like milk and fruit we can also find hard-to-find nutritious and cultural items, as well as being close to the community and we can spend time with staff we already know and trust. Thanks.
La despensa de alimentos es importante por qué es accesible para personas de bajos recursos especialmente con el incremento en los precios de comida .
The food pantry is important because it is accessible to people of low income, especially with the increase in food prices.
La dispensa de alimentos es importante para mi porque a veces es difícil tener acceso a todo lo que necesitamos especialmente cuando los productos no están cerca en la tienda, no los venden, y también por que a veces las familias no tienen suficiente dinero, o pagas otros gastos o comes “bien“ y muchas veces no quieres pedir ayuda al estado por varias razones
The food pantry is important to me because sometimes it is difficult to have access to everything we need especially when the products are not in stores close by, or they do not sell them. Also because sometimes families do not have enough money, either you pay other expenses or eat “well” and many times you do not want to ask for help from the state for various reasons
Para mi y mi familia ha sido muy importante porque con el aumento de los precios de los productos en las tiendas. La despensa de mano a mano me ayudado a completar mi despensa de mi hogar
For myself and my family, it has been important due to the increase in food prices at the stores. The Mano en Mano pantry has helped me fill my pantry at home.
The pantry is located in our Milbridge Office, and is available to all community members, Monday - Friday from 10am-6pm.
Interesting in supporting Mano en Manos food access work? Donate today!
