Advocacy Programs

PORTLAND (WGME) — Federal stimulus money that beefed up the food stamp program years ago expired Friday. It’s called the Hunger Cliff and hunger advocates say we have fallen over the edge. Paul Trusiani has spent almost every day of the past four decades greeting customers inside his small supermarket on Congress Street in Portland. … Read more

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree is visiting a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Portland. The Democratic congresswoman will visit the Preble Street soup kitchen on Wednesday. Pingree’s office says that the congresswoman will talk to three residents at the Oxford Street Shelter who haven’t been able to move into permanent housing due to mandatory federal … Read more

A federal program aimed at filling this gap is gaining ground in Maine. For the first time since it was launched in the 1970s, the Summer Food Service Program is providing free meals in every county in the state. The Maine Department of Education, which oversees the program here, enabled this expansion by stepping up … Read more

For the first time ever, every county in Maine has free summer meal sites for kids. It’s a feat that’s taken decades to achieve, since the federal Summer Food Service Program began in the late 60s. But even in 2013, advocates say, lack of awareness is the biggest barrier between hungry kids and free summer … Read more

STATEWIDE (WGME) — One in four Maine children doesn’t know when, or if, they’ll eat on any given day. There’s millions of federal dollars available to help feed food insecure kids, but Maine has left about 90 percent of that funding on the table. Officials are trying increase participation in the summer food service program. … Read more

PORTLAND (WGME) — The sun was up for about 15 and a half hours Friday, the longest day of the year, and some folks in Portland are using every minute of daylight to raise awareness about homelessness in the city. It’s the Preble Street Homeless Voices for Justice annual Summer Solstice sit-out. The event portrays … Read more

PORTLAND (WGME) — Portland city councilors voted Tuesday night to move forward a proposed ban on panhandling in city medians. The City Council voted down a similar ban last fall. Since then, there have been a rising number of complaints over panhandling across the city. Officials believe this causes an unsafe situation for pedestrians and … Read more

OXFORD HILLS – Groups concerned with the high rate of childhood hunger in the area are establishing at least three summer meal programs at central locations across Oxford Hills. The sites are aimed at alleviating the strain on the area’s most food-insecure families, especially during the summer when lunch and breakfast provided to students at … Read more

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – It is one of the most talked about issues in Portland right now. The explosion of panhandling across the city. Tomorrow a city council committee will take up a proposal that will address the issue, at least in part. It would keep people off median strips dividing city streets. Other … Read more

No aspect of urban poverty strikes the same emotional nerve as panhandling. Record numbers of homeless people crowding into shelters doesn’t do it. People lining up outside soup kitchens doesn’t do it. Reports of children showing up for school without having enough of the right food they need to be ready to learn just get … Read more