Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundations donates to 28 food banks

SKOWHEGAN – Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundation has donated $30,000 to 28 local food bank programs that serve central and western Maine.
“In this time of uncertainty, we know there are many Maine families facing financial hardships in our communities. Being able to put food on the table, shouldn’t be one,” said David Cyr, president and CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank. “If we can directly support these local food programs in a manner that can alleviate some of the stress families are experiencing over food scarcity, then we’re here to help.”
“We serve residents in Skowhegan and each distribution, we are seeing increased numbers, serving roughly 400-500 individuals within 250 households monthly,” said Jennifer Grenier, president of the Skowhegan Food Cupboard. “The need right now is greater than ever and the donation from Skowhegan Savings will help us be able to continue to provide food for these individuals as the need continues to grow.”
Before COVID-19, according to The U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 200,000 Mainers relied on food agencies, with one in five children considered food insecure in 2019.
“Maine ranks 12th in the United States in food insecurity, a sobering statistic that doesn’t escape our community,” said Bob Moore, executive director of the Augusta Food Bank.
The Augusta Food Bank serves an average of 350 households per month. Their Weekend KidsPaks program provides 750 healthy meals to local school children weekly and they participate in a FoodShare Program that supplies food to partners to prepare meals for over 1,000 individuals a month.
“Skowhegan Savings Bank’s generous gift will help provide nearly 3,000 meals to our hungry neighbors,” said Moore.
With schools closing unexpectedly because of COVID-19 concerns, many of the state’s backpack programs, that provide students with healthy meals outside of school, quickly depleted their on-hand resources.