While restrictions relax, hunger persists

With the reopening of shops, restaurants and other businesses, it’s easy to feel like we’ve passed some kind of threshold. That maybe the crisis is starting to abate. And perhaps it is for some, but not for the thousands of Maine families and individuals hardest hit by the pandemic.  They continue to struggle with food insecurity, with no clear end in sight.

According to Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the U.S, statewide rates of hunger are projected to grow by as much as 40 percent in 2020. Southern Maine is expected to see the greatest increase, owing to job losses, but Piscataquis, Somerset, Aroostook and Washington counties continue to experience dire food insecurity. In fact, they have the highest rates of hunger in the entire northeastern United States.

Children will be the hardest hit, according to Good Shepherd Food Bank, which shared these findings. Child hunger is estimated to be experienced by one in four kids in southern Maine, while in northern and eastern counties that rate could be as high as one in three. One in three children at risk of going hungry in this bountiful state of Maine.

So while we’re all anxious to see Maine’s economy jumpstarted, and we all yearn to return to even a semblance of normalcy, it’s important to remember many of our neighbors don’t have that luxury. And that’s why Cooking for Community will continue to work with our partners to help feed those who need meals now. Because, we believe, recovery will not be complete until it buoys us all.