More than food

People experiencing food insecurity often rely on the emergency food system to have enough food to eat. Unfortunately, because pantries and soup kitchens are often underfunded and rely on donations, the food they provide is regularly highly processed and contains excessive amounts of sugar, sodium, and saturated fats. This highly processed food retains very little … Read more

Nourishing, healthy meals for all

Maine has the highest rate of food insecurity in New England and is one of the most food insecure states in the country. One in five Maine children do not get enough food to eat, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately affected by this rise in hunger. To combat this, Preble … Read more

Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year: Mark Swann leads Preble Street on a statewide mission of fighting poverty

We are thrilled to share that Preble Street Executive Director, Mark Swann, has been named a Nonprofit Business Leader of the year by MaineBiz! In his 30 years as our leader, he has helped the agency grow from two employees working in Portland to nearly 300 employees and 1000 volunteers working all over the state … Read more

Preble Street launches new Culturally Appropriate Meals intiative

In 2020 alone, Preble Street provided over one million meals, a reflection of the increasing needs in the community for food support and access to healthy meals. The food programs offer mobile food services and soup kitchens along with a food pantry for those experiencing food insecurity and housing instability or homelessness. In February 2021, … Read more

THANK YOU!

Thank you to the 3,000 volunteers who throughout the COVID-19 crisis have lent their hands and hearts to the people Preble Street serves. With your help, Preble Street handed out 1,000 Thanksgiving food boxes — filled with turkey fresh produce and ample ingredients for a full holiday feast — and tomorrow we will deliver van … Read more

Portland officials told social workers to stop publicly distributing food to those in need

Note: Preble Street continues to serve meals to those in need at several stops throughout Portland. Advocates for the homeless organized a protest on the decline of social services in Portland on Wednesday night, preparing to sleep into the night on the steps of City Hall. It comes after city officials told social workers here … Read more