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Read-A-Thon
Read-A-Thon
Read-A-Thon
Partners & Sponsorship
Food Insecurity in Hancock County
​According to the Maine Center for Economic Policy, more than one in 10 Maine households goes without nutritious food, making Maine the most food insecure state in New England. Childhood food insecurity rates in Hancock County are even higher: according to Kids Count Data Center, 1 in 6 children in Hancock County live in food insecure households, which can have lifelong impacts on children’s physical health, mental health, and educational outcomes.
The pandemic, which has caused widespread unemployment, has exacerbated the challenges that Mainers face when accessing healthy food. Food assistance programs in Hancock County that were already grappling with high hunger rates are now reporting an increase in numbers.
By building resources for food assistance programs in our region, the Hancock County Food Drive works to ensure that all people in our community have access to nutritious, affordable food.
The US Department of Agriculture defines food security as a condition of having “consistent, dependable access to enough food for active healthy living.”
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Food insecurity does not exist in isolation, as low-income families are affected by multiple, overlapping issues like lack of affordable housing, social isolation, transportation barriers, chronic or acute health problems, high medical costs, low wages, structural racism, and more.
(source: Feeding America).
