Thank you, Maine! You've helped raise almost $300,000 for those in need

In Maine, 14 percent of households are food insecure, meaning they don’t have access to enough nutritious food. 

Food insecurity forces people to skip meals and restrict their diets to low-cost, unhealthy foods. 

1 in 5 Maine children lives in a food insecure home.

With your help, NEWS CENTER Maine took a step toward changing those numbers today!

Our second Feed Maine telethon on May 2 helped raise $130,041 from 759 total donations.

At $1 per four meals, this comes to a grand total of 520,614 meals!

NEWS CENTER Maine launched Feed Maine in September 2017 with a goal of raising enough money to supply 1 million meals to the people of Maine when and where they need it, ultimately to end food insecurity in our state. 

We won't stop until that goal is reached.

We surpassed that goal today -- over the past year and a half, we have raised $298,642 total, providing 1,194,568 meals to Mainers!

A generous (and lucky) viewer from Cape Elizabeth also won our Fenway Gameday Package at a bidding price of $2,350.

Funds raised by the telethon today will be used for the Good Shepherd Food Bank’s programs -- statewide food distribution, purchasing from Maine farmers, and child hunger programs, including school pantry and backpack, nutrition education, cooking lessons, and more.

Summer is a difficult time for families who struggle with hunger because kids are out of school and often don’t have access to school meals. While some communities have summer meal programs, many don’t have accessible meal sites, especially in rural areas.

At NEWS CENTER Maine, we are thankful to viewers like you for making our ambitious mission possible!