Maine Harvest for Hunger
The Maine Harvest for Hunger project is an outreach program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to food-insecure individuals and families in Maine.
Since 2000, UMaine Cooperative Extension’s statewide Maine Harvest for Hunger program has mobilized gardeners, farmers, businesses, schools, and civic groups to grow, glean, and donate high-quality produce to distribution sites (pantries, shelters, low-income senior centers, etc.) and directly to neighbors in need, with the objective of mitigating hunger, improving nutrition and health, and helping recipients develop lifelong positive nutritional habits. In 2016 Maine Harvest for Hunger educational programs have also focused on engaging food pantry recipients in growing more of their own produce and/or appropriate methods of cooking and utilization of fresh produce.
Pounds of produce donated in Cumberland County so far this year = 13,492.95
In Cumberland County during the 2021 growing season, volunteers, gardeners, farmers, and corporate partners donated 13,493 pounds of fresh produce and distributed it to twenty-one sites including food pantries and soup kitchens.
Statewide Yearly Totals (updated to 2021):
View exact totals on the Maine Harvest for Hunger About Us page.