10/28/2026
Good Shepherd Food Bank hosted legislators and candidates for a tour of its Hampden distribution facility and a conversation about food insecurity in Maine 🥕🍎🌾While the numbers are bleak -- especially due to federal cuts not only to SNAP but also to the programs* that directly support food banks and farmers -- these folks and the hunger relief orgs they partner with are making a huge difference in our communities. I am so grateful to everyone who shares their time, talent, and treasure to ensure our neighbors don't go hungry.
At the state level, we took action this year by:
- Authorizing the Governor to access emergency funds to protect SNAP benefits if the federal government cuts off funding again.
- Helping Maine residents stretch their SNAP dollars further and access locally produced food through investments in nutrition incentive programs like Farm Fresh Rewards and Maine Harvest Bucks.
- Ensuring all legally present Mainers are eligible for state SNAP benefits as the federal government threatens to leave domestic violence survivors, trafficking victims, and refugees without food assistance.
- Investing in the systems needed to keep Maine's SNAP program running under new federal restrictions.
* Federal food bank programs that have been cut over the past year:
- TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) is down 36% or 4.5M pounds.
- CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program) is down 10%.
- LFPA (Local Food Purchasing Agreement) has ended entirely. This program bought products from Maine farmers to distribute at food banks, so this is also a blow to our agricultural sector.
