Because of COVID the demand on food banks in Maine, and across the country, has more than doubled from last year. Up until Christmas our delivery service through WeedMaps will be having huge holiday specials with a portion of all sales donated to Wayside Food Programs at 135 Walton Street Portland, Maine.
According to Feeding America, more than 173,000 people in Maine are struggling with hunger, including close to 47,500 children. Feeding America reports, according to 2018 data, around 13% of residents across the state are food insecure, meaning they don’t have adequate access to nutritious food. Maine’s number is higher than the national average of 11.5%.
This holiday season more than any other we need to keep the less fortunate in mind. Food insecurity has more than doubled from this time last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Preble Street and Wayside Food Programs don’t see the need subsiding anytime soon and have been forced to rethink how they provide meals, especially as winter – and Christmas – approaches.
“The state of our economy (will) make the holidays difficult for even more people in this community,” Preble Street Executive Director Mark Swann said.
Normally Preble Street Food Pantry in Portland, Maine would have huge holiday feasts for the poor and homeless, but this isn’t possible due to crowd restrictions. Preble Street distributed more than 1,000 turkeys and “reached more families than any holiday in our 45-year history,” he said.
Both organizations need help from the community in food donations, fundraising and food distribution. I can think of no other industry in a better position to help these folks than cannabis. We are doing OK, we are an essential industry and business is booming. Lets all do our share to support the community we work in and with.
