Hunger in Maine has grown substantially since the pandemic. In 2021, Preble Street responded by launching its vision for the Food Security Hub as a way to meet the increased demand for emergency food services. Today, the result of that vision — the newly renovated Preble Street Food Security Hub — a sustainable, comprehensive, and collaborative approach dedicated to ending hunger in Maine — celebrates its grand opening alongside community partners and anti-hunger advocates.  

“Today, we are excited to welcome partners, friends, farmers, advocates, and elected officials to the new Preble Street Food Security Hub,” said Mark Swann, Executive Director, Preble Street. “Food access is a challenge statewide, and this new facility will allow us to support the growing number of people across Maine who are food insecure and struggling to get nutritious meals on their table. We now have the capacity to cook up to 10,000 meals a day, and store 50,000 frozen fully prepared meals. Working collaboratively, this Hub will be a real game changer in the fight to end hunger in Maine.” 

“The Food Security Hub is a powerful testament to what’s possible when organizations like Good Shepherd Food Bank and Preble Street come together with a shared vision and unwavering commitment,” shared Heather Paquette, President, Good Shepherd Food Bank. “This partnership is more than just a new facility; It’s a bold step forward in our work to end hunger in Maine. By working together, we are strengthening Maine’s food security ecosystem and ensuring that no one in Maine — whether it’s a child, a parent, or a neighbor — has to choose between food and health. Together, we are building a future where everyone has access to the nourishing food they need to thrive.”  

“This is an extremely exciting day,” said U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree, “And it really puts into work those things that I’ve been working on in public policy, whether it’s from the agriculture side or the nutrition side, and here you are all doing it today. The Food Security Hub embodies that if you have a way to process it, you can deal with a lot more fresh and healthy food. You can accept more and different kinds of donations, packaging it right into a meal, or getting it in a freezer. And you can’t talk about feeding people without talking about SNAP, It’s always important for people to understand that as wonderful and needed as all of our food pantries and food assistance is, SNAP benefits supply people with about a nine to one ratio of what you can get from food pantries.” 

The new Preble Street Food Security Hub, with its custom designed kitchen and distribution centers, enables the agency to better meet the needs of the diverse groups of people experiencing food insecurity in Maine: people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, youth, families, immigrants and asylum seekers, older adults, and Veterans. 

A culinary team with professional experience spanning fine dining, large-scale catering, research and development, and food justice lead staff and volunteers in the new 5,000 square foot kitchen. Meals are prepared daily from scratch, using local produce donated from area farms. State-of-the art equipment, including blanchers, blast chillers, and dehydrators, allows the preservation of produce that would otherwise have spoiled and increases access to nutritious fruits and vegetables year-round. 

For decades, Preble Street has fed people impacted by various emergencies and natural disasters, from the Ice Storm of 1998 to the pandemic, and more. The increased processing and freezer capacity of the Food Security Hub allows the nonprofit to have 50,000 frozen, prepared meals on hand and available for future emergencies. Those meals, in addition to the 10,000 meals that the Food Security Hub will be able to produce daily, will serve as a vital resource for any Mainer in need in time of an emergency. 

Sustainability is also a priority at the Food Security Hub. The design of the building includes off-site solar panel arrays which offset a substantial portion of energy needs, LED lighting, and energy-efficient appliances, including an energy recovery dishwasher that repurposes heating and a dehydrator that extends the life of food and reduces waste. 

“With federal cuts and ongoing threats to emergency food assistance and healthcare chipping away at the safety nets that help many people in our community stay fed, healthy, and housed, the potential of the Food Security Hub could not be more needed right now,” added Swann. “We are going to work relentlessly to feed vulnerable people in Maine. The Food Security Hub makes it possible for so many more people and organizations to join us in this work.” 

The Preble Street Food Security Hub is possible thanks to the support of a large number of community organizations, municipalities, and leaders. Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, Hannaford Charitable Foundation, and John T. Gorman Foundation all provided early support for the vision of the Food Security Hub. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, along with Senators Angus King and Susan Collins and Representative Jared Golden also helped Preble Street secure a critical $1 million in community project funding. State and local officials, including Governor Janet Mills and Maine legislators Rachel Talbot Ross, Mo Terry, Peggy Rotondo, Melanie Sachs, Drew Gattine, and many others, made the opening of this world-class facility dedicated to ending hunger possible. Preble Street also thanks the City of South Portland, the City of Portland, and Cumberland County for their support of this project.