AUGUSTA FOOD BANK

Since 1981 the AFB has been providing nutritious food for some of our most vulnerable citizens – children attending our area schools, unemployed parents, disabled veterans, isolated seniors, and those struggling with homelessness, mental illness or substance abuse issues. In Maine, one out of every five children and one out of every six seniors experience hunger.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Augusta Food Bank didn’t miss a beat in 2020 – providing more than 600,000 meals - an increase of 25% over 2019.

One change that we did notice, however, is that our audience grew to include many folks who never would have imagined in their wildest dreams that they would be in need of our services. Here’s some of the programs offered to help those who find themselves on the wrong side of food insecurity:

• AFB Marketplace – healthy food provided to more
than 300 households (750 people) every month,
including 35 households with home delivery provided.

• Free Food Thursday – our doors are opened up every
week to 50+- households who “shop” for the hundreds
of lbs. of surplus food items left over each week.

• Weekend KidsPaks – Each Pak contains six meals and
Snacks handed out to more than 100 children every
week - over 20,000 meals provided last year alone.

• FoodShare – We provide twenty-five area food
pantries, churches, recovery homes, youth centers
and senior living units with meats, produce, bakery
& dairy items with thousands of lbs. of food as needed,
increasing our distribution channels to help feed
thousands more.

In 2020, we took in over 800,000 lbs. of donated food with a value of $1.3M - a 33% increase over 2019. Another $90,000 of food was purchased, more than double the cost of 2019. We’re not only thankful to our terrific area retailers that provide the bulk of donated food - Hannaford, Sam’s Club, Target, Wal-Mart and Shaw’s - but we would be
lost without the individuals, businesses, organizations, and schools that drop off items daily or participate in our Feed-A-Neighbor program.

With a full-time staff of three, we are indebted to the 75+ volunteers who provide more than 6,000 hours a year – the equivalent of doubling our staff! From high school & college students, to those taking time off from their jobs, to the committed senior citizens, we are fortunate to have such a dedicated and generous group.