When you think of your typical food bank, rows of canned goods across dozens of shelves in a warehouse often come to mind. Nowadays, the scene inside many of Maine’s food banks and pantries can include frozen goods, fresh produce and some proteins in addition to shelf-stable food, all waiting to be disbursed to those most in need. These facilities provide an essential service, and they do a great job in matching the needs of residents in their respective communities to the many donors who supply these facilities with food.
For one Franklin County hospital, however, they’ve taken the concept of what a food pantry is much further.
The MaineHealth Food Pantry at Franklin, which is a collaboration of MaineHealth’s Franklin Community Health Network via Franklin Memorial Hospital and Good Shepard Food Bank, began about seven months ago at its facility on Mt. Blue Circle in Farmington. Still in its infancy, the program is the first hospital-affiliated program for MaineHealth under the auspices of its Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County (HCC) and aims to tackle hunger and food insecurity in Franklin County.
And food insecurity is an issue in Maine. According to a report provided to Maine’s Legislature on Tuesday, Feb. 8, about 11.4% – or over 153,000 Mainers – suffer from low or very low food insecurity. The problem affects nearly one in five children, and Maine ranks highest among all of the New England states for those most at risk of food insecurity including those in higher income brackets. In fact, four in 10 Maine households that suffer from such insecurity don’t qualify for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
In addition to its human toll, food insecurity also costs the state about $370 million per year to feed those in need directly, and about $700 million more to cover indirect but related health, special education and lost productivity costs. Additionally, it’s not hard to see how hunger can lead to many other health problems or chronic disease, especially among children in single parent households, which suffer the highest food insecurity in Maine followed by those who are disabled.
Hospital-affiliated collaborations like MaineHealth’s food pantry in Farmington and their similar one at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway are targeted to meet such needs directly, as the facilities cater to patients and employees alike.
According to LeeAnna Lavoie, director for Franklin Health’s Healthy Community Coalition who took over the center in November, the food pantry’s concept stemmed from the state’s last Community Health Needs Assessment that identified nutrition and social determinants of health among several health priorities for Franklin County.
“Through that process we developed a plan – food insecurity was in the top four needs of the community along with mental health, substance use disorders and access to care,” she said. “Part of our vision, which we received a Hannaford grant, is to expand the pantry and provide a place where people can come and learn how to cook healthily. It’s a place where we can make food positive, where it can be healing.”
Lavoie said the pantry’s staff are all health educators, and their vision entails adding a kitchen to the pantry where cooking, health and nutritional instruction centered on healthy eating and living could take place. In all, the center has served about 150 families through 7,000 meals since it began in July, and has involved over 8,000 lbs. of food, some of which was provided through their partnerships with local farms and school gardens.
Still, it’s reaching families among their patients and employees who are in need that still presents a challenge for the pantry.
“We have a mix of people who are accessing the food pantry, and we have emergency food bags for patients that screen positive for food insecurity,” Lavoie said. “But some people will say, ‘I’m not that bad – I want to save this service for other people.’ People don’t want to ask for help.”
While it’s still a pilot program, concepts like this are notable and may be the future. If we can not only address food insecurity but also teach the techniques that can help solve it, therein lies the real solution.
By Senator Russell Black
Wilton
Senator Russell Black represents Maine Senate District 17 and is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife committees.
