BIDDEFORD, Maine — More than1,300 boxes of free food were handed out to those in need in Biddeford Tuesday.
People from the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, in partnership with Pineland Farm, loaded food items like potatoes, cheese and milk were loaded into cars.
The boxes are provided through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a component of the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program that was established through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act.
The program is supporting farmers with up to $3 billion in purchases of fresh produce, dairy, and meat and distributing these products to low-income Americans in need.
"We need to be engaged in any possible way that connects us neighbor to neighbor, and as people feel insecure about food, anything we can do to share resources that we have so we are distributing it and sharing it gives us a sense of hope and momentum towards a better future," Bishop Thomas James Brown told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Each box of food will contains Maine-made food products: five pounds of potatoes, six pounds of microwavable mashed potatoes, two and a half pounds of cheddar cheese, and a half-gallon of fresh two percent milk.
"Many families in the greater Biddeford area are continuing to face food insecurity and other economic challenges associated with COVID-19. Thanks to this program, many more York County residents in need will have a simple way to access fresh, locally-grown food," said Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant.