Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
LEWISTON — Representatives from St. Mary’s Food Pantry recently presented an award to Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe on Sabattus Street for their outstanding effort in raising money to end hunger in Maine.
Every fall, St. Mary’s and Sam’s locations statewide partner in a campaign to sell “cornucopias” to customers for $1 a piece with proceeds to benefit local food pantries. The campaign is also a competition among the 13 Sam’s locations to see which store raises the most funds.
Statewide, Sam’s stores raised $4,225. Sam’s Sabattus Street location won the competition with over $1,000 raised. In total, the Lewiston-Auburn Sam’s locations raised $3,000 for St. Mary’s Food Pantry.
St. Mary’s Food Pantry is seeing a significant increase in community need, and these types of partnerships help the organization access the needed resources to nourish the community. In 2016, the pantry provided food for over 580 people per week, representing a 54 percent increase since 2014. The pantry provides quality food to those who visit, distributing over 150,000 pounds of fresh produce in 2016 in addition to shelf stable items.
Sparetime Recreation and Flagship Cinema also supported the campaign by donating bowling passes and movie passes for the winning store’s employees as prizes for a job well done.
In addition to its food pantry, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center offers cooking, nutrition and garden education programs for people of all ages, job training programs for teens, community gardens in Lewiston and Auburn, and manages the year-round Lewiston Farmers Market and Good Food Bus. For more information visit www.stmarysnutritioncenter.org.
PHOTO CAPTION: St. Mary’s Food Pantry representatives present an award to Sabattus Street Sam’s employees for their outstanding effort in raising money to end hunger in Maine. From left are Nutrition Center Operations Manager Mia Poliquin Pross, David MacArthur and Heather Pride of Sam’s, and Bettyann Sheats, Food Pantry Advisory Committee member.
