BREWER, Maine (WABI) – Thanksgiving fixings for 1,500 families across the state have been collected and the process of giving them out is underway.
It’s all a part of the 19th Annual Solidarity Harvest.
A collection of several groups led by Food and Medicine in Brewer will distribute around $100,000 of primarily locally sourced food.
Food and Medicine handles all the sides, like potatoes, stuffing, and cider – to name a few – while one of their partners, Penquis, handles the turkeys.
“What we’re hearing from our friends or family members and our neighbors is that they’re really struggling this winter with increased heating costs, gas costs, food costs. There are a lot of folks who are struggling to put food on their table. Having our community come together, having 100 organizations partner to make sure that families have a hot warm Thanksgiving meal is a really big deal,” said Kara Hay, Penquis president and CEO.
“This is a band aid. Band aids are good. The biggest anti food insecurity program in the country is SNAP. It’s a federal program formerly known as food stamps, and that’s what’s gonna make a real difference. And in all our literature, we encourage our congressional delegation to support a strong SNAP program,” said Jack McKay, Eastern Maine Labor Council president.
Food and Medicine could still use help with volunteers to pack and help give out the meals.
Members of the University of Maine Women’s Soccer team were there Wednesday morning doing just that.
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