Ending Hunger Mini-Grants Awarded to 14 Maine Student Projects – Two In Aroostook County

Fourteen student-led projects addressing food insecurity on college campuses, in high schools and in communities statewide have been awarded mini-grants from the Maine Hunger Dialogue, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension-led initiative that mobilizes the power of higher education to end hunger in the state. 

The recipients of mini-grants of as much as $500 are: Mt. Ararat High School, Kennebec Valley Community College, York County Community College, University of New England, University of Maine, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Presque Isle, University of Maine at Machias, University of Maine at Farmington, University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) and UMA Bangor, and University of Southern Maine (USM) and USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College.

The new Maine Hunger Dialogue-funded projects:

• Kennebec Valley Community College: Team members plan to open a food pantry called Campus Cupboard, as well as a “grab-and-go bar” on the Fairfield campus. The team plans to donate a portion of fresh garden vegetables grown on the college-owned farm to the pantry. They also hope to extend their reach into the surrounding community.

• York County Community College: Team members will open a resource cabinet called the Coyote Den that will be stocked with food and personal hygiene items. It will be located in a shared teacher/student lounge. In the near future, the team envisions a larger office space to accommodate a campus food pantry.

• Two grants to the University of Southern Maine: The student-led Husky Hunger and school-sponsored Wellness Center are exploring ways to end hunger. Both organizations are co-sponsoring a free weekly “Wellness Breakfast,” consisting of day-old bread items donated from Panera Bread. The ultimate goal is to open the Husky Wellness Food Pantry. In addition, USM team members will raise awareness about hunger and homelessness in the Portland and Gorham communities, and mobilize students to take action through service projects during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in November 2016.

• University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College: The LAC Resource Hub was established several years ago and then revitalized last year with funds provided by the Hunger Dialogue. The resource hub provides meals, clothes and personal hygiene items for students. The hub is located in the student lounge.

• Mt. Ararat High School: Team members opened the Eagles Food Pantry, which can be accessed through the Guidance Office. They are also in communications with the community action group Partners For a Hunger Free York County, exploring ways to engage students and parents to build awareness of the free/reduced lunch program.

• University of Maine at Augusta: Social science faculty created the course SSC 334: Cultivating Community: The Garden Seminar, with the goal of revitalizing the community garden. Partnering with the student government, the social science class will grow vegetables and donate bounty to area food pantries.

• University of Maine at Augusta Bangor: Team members will continue their project from last year and print copies of the student penned cookbook, Hungry Moose Cookbook: A College Students Guide to Cheap Healthy Eating, which will be donated to the campus library, Maine State Library and surrounding local libraries. Team members are planning a mini Hunger Dialogue to explore steps needed to open a campus-based food pantry.

• University of Maine at Machias: The Food Recovery Network (FRN) student club will resume food production at UMM’s greenhouse and community garden. As part of its service requirement to graduate, UMM students will tend to the gardens with the help of community volunteers. Vegetables will be donated to local food pantries. FRN also is sponsoring a student cooking class in the residence hall kitchen. The goal is to demonstrate how to buy and prepare nutritious food on a budget.

• University of Maine at Farmington: Team members will establish a resource hub called Commuter and Community Commons. The goal is to bring social service information to students in need, offer gardening classes and provide a food pantry.

• University of Maine at Fort Kent: Team members propose to open the Bengal’s Outreach Food Pantry at the Learning Center, home of the university’s TRiO program. TRiO program students and staff will volunteer to maintain the pantry. The local community food bank board meets quarterly and has offered to involve student volunteers to establish a productive partnership between campus and community in the fight to end hunger.

• University of Maine: University of Maine’s Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism sponsored a multi-campus pack-out for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. An estimated 120 volunteers came together, raised $5,880, packed 23,520 meals in 73 minutes, and distributed meals to 10 different food pantries in two Maine counties.

• University of Maine at Presque Isle: To build hunger awareness on campus and in the community, team members will sponsor a campus-wide pack-out. Organizers plan to reach out to the local community college and area high schools.

• University of New England: University of New England will expand its community garden and continue to donate vegetables to its Food Recovery Program and local food pantries. UNE also is establishing a Resource Hub to connect at-risk students with service information and distribute food weekly.

The goal of the Maine Hunger Dialogue is to inspire students to take action to address hunger on their campuses and in their communities. To help in that effort, Hunger Dialogue campus teams can apply for as much as $500 in startup funds to implement a new project, or expand/strengthen/build sustainability for an already existing hunger-related project. Projects could include activities such as a new campus food pantry or expansion of an organic garden to provide larger quantities of fresh vegetables for local homeless shelters.

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