How you can help during the SNAP crisis

While programs like the Preble Street Food Security Hub and food pantries across the country are here to support people experiencing food insecurity, we cannot come close to replacing the food supply and dollar value that SNAP provides. SNAP is the biggest and most efficient tool to fight hunger. For every meal that food banks … Read more

Federal attacks on people in poverty

Instead of providing solutions to hunger, homelessness, and poverty, an onslaught of recent federal actions and policies are attacking the people suffering from these challenges. The massive cuts to food assistance (SNAP), Medicaid, and homeless prevention and housing programs are harming thousands of Mainers, including older adults, people with disabilities, Veterans, families, homeless youth and … Read more

5 things to know…about recent federal efforts to criminalize homelessness

If ensuring the basic human rights of people who are vulnerable and struggling in our community is important to you, right now is a critical time to speak up and out.  In the last few weeks, the White House has issued a directive to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from Washington, D.C., and an executive … Read more

Statement on White House Executive Order on Homelessness

We are angry today.  Angry and pissed off at this awful executive order from the White House that will criminalize homelessness and incentivize communities, states, and agencies to stop doing the things that we are doing and have already proven to work to end homelessness. Housing First with 24-hour supportive services works. Harm reduction approaches … Read more

Do your job as a Mainer: Make sure families in our state have food and healthcare!

Someone you know — likely MANY people you know — are about to lose food assistance and healthcare. Food and healthcare are basic human rights that, for many Mainers, are only possible through SNAP and Medicaid. The massive proposed cuts to these vital programs will harm thousands of Maine caregivers, older adults, people with disabilities, Veterans, families, … Read more

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Preble Street! Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Please join us to honor and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Preble Street! GATHER with supporters, former and current staff, volunteers, partner organizations, and community members to CELEBRATE all that we have accomplished in the last 50 years to find solutions for homelessness and hunger in Maine. This event is free to attend. Advance registration is requested. EVERYONE … Read more

TAKE ACTION TO KEEP ALL PORTLAND SHELTERS OPEN

Updated – May 1, 2025, at 4:06pm Preble Street is asking Portland residents to reach out to the City Council and urge them to support the City Manager’s recommended FY26 budget which calls for no cuts to municipal services through ‘the use of $8.8M in Fund Balance.’ And, we also ask the Council to reject … Read more

Medicaid: a lifeline for Mainers

For more than 400,000 Mainers, Medicaid (also known as MaineCare) is a vital support that helps people stay healthy, housed, and fed. Whether it’s someone managing a chronic illness, a parent struggling to make ends meet, or an individual experiencing homelessness, Medicaid helps keep people from slipping further into crisis.  But proposed cuts and new … Read more

TAKE ACTION TODAY: Ensure Mainers stay housed and can access basic needs

General Assistance is a statewide program that helps Mainers in crisis meet basic needs. This temporary, emergency relief program is administered by municipalities across the state, and serves as a last resort for people facing extreme hardship, allowing them to afford food, diapers, medicine, rent, heat, electricity, or other necessities. TAKE ACTION This Monday, April 7, … Read more

Food Is a Human Right: Protecting Access to Nutrition in Maine

In honor of National Nutrition Month, we take a look at the emergency food system in Maine. Food pantries and anti-hunger non-profits like Preble Street play an important role in ensuring people experiencing food insecurity have consistent access to healthy and nutritious food. Since opening in 1975, Preble Street has worked to ensure that everyone … Read more