The Augusta Food Bank (AFB), a nonprofit partner program of United Way of Kennebec Valley, has been serving the greater Augusta area for over 30 years. The organization focuses on addressing food insecurity in the area through a variety of services, including but not limited to, on-site food pickup (AFB Marketplace), home-delivery, FoodShare, and KidsPak programs.
AFB already aligns with Impact2032 using a variety of different strategies under the health, education and financial stability vision statements. Its FoodShare and KidsPak programs in particular address multiple outcomes under each vision by ensuring that children, adults and families receive the healthy food needed to achieve optimum health, be ready to learn, and reach financial independence regardless of social or economic barriers.
The FoodShare program focuses on distributing any excess food items to other local organizations, food pantries and/or schools to provide expanded access to high quality, nutritious food in community settings. The KidsPak program achieves a similar goal by providing a Pak of healthy, shelf-stable, kid-friendly favorites that is sent home with students every weekend.
AFB partners with the majority of the region’s school systems, either through their FoodShare program and/or KidsPak program. They have even helped some schools set-up their own school food pantry by connecting and helping them establish an account with Good Shepard Food Bank directly. Many schools have found that students are able to access free and/or reduced breakfast or lunch but are not coming to school with food for snack time. Often, schools and/or teachers are using their own funds to purchase additional healthy items to have on hand.
As part of AFB’s Impact2032 Plan, they intend to assist all local school systems in establishing their own food pantry for children in need of snacks during the day by connecting schools with Good Shephard Food Bank. AFB has already made the connection for Lincoln Elementary School, which has created its own food pantry filled with snacks for students.
I am happy to know that the United Way of Kennebec Valley produced the first issue of Impact 2032 and that it included three important organizations the Augusta Food Bank, MSAD 11 the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office, led by AFB Board member and District Attorney Meaghan Maloney. The “sow seeds and shape change” whose hope and vision IS to strengthen the health, education and financial stability of people in the communities of Kennebec Valley. Impact 2032 cross sector s planning for the next 10 years will work hard to reach its vision. I am also happy to know that the Augusta Food Bank is already working towards this vision by the work that it has been doing in addressing food insecurity in the area through a variety of programs and continues to address many ways to meet the vision of the UWKV IMPACT guiding the Kennebec Valley move forward.