LincolnHealth and the United Way of Mid Coast Maine have joined forces for the first two weeks of October to fight hunger in Lincoln County. The Food Security Coalition Pantry Program is a program that raises awareness around hunger issues and fills food pantry shelves in a community. There are 16 locations across the LincolnHealth system that are drop off locations this October. The United Way’s Food Security Coalition Coordinator, Mary Turner, has worked with local pantries to develop lists of most needed items; which are posted at all drop off locations.

Several groups are found to be at greater risk of hunger in Maine; children, adults in low income families, disabled persons, persons with special needs, the elderly, those living in rural regions and the inner cities of Maine's largest urban places. Nationwide the rate of those living with food insecurity, lack of enough nutritious/healthy food, declined by 2 million people between 2014 and 2015. However Maine’s rate is still increasing and we are above the national average with 15.8 percent of all Mainers living with food insecurity.

Many factors contribute to hunger in Maine; including income growth that is outpaced by cost of living; high level of underemployment; widening gap between rich and poor; illiteracy; and lack of consumer information on nutrition. LincolnHealth understands all too well the important role that food and nutrition plays in the health of an individual and a community. The food drive is the kickoff event to the LincolnHealth United Way employee campaign that will happen the last two weeks of October.

Community involvement in the food drive in welcomed and appreciated; food drop off locations within LincolnHealth include: Miles Campus-Damariscotta and St. Andrews Urgent Care-Boothbay Harbor main lobbies, Lincoln Medical Partners offices in Damariscotta, Waldoboro and Wiscasset, as well as Schooner Cove, Cove’s Edge and Chase Point all in Damariscotta. For more information you may contact Anni Pat McKenney at LincolnHealth 633-1542.