FOOD

Feeding America estimates that 144,290 people in Maine are facing hunger. That means that 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 7 children are food insecure. In February 2023, 174,344 individuals were receiving SNAP benefits in Maine, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2023 more than 91,508 Maine housholds receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) households were impacted by federal cuts. On average SNAP participants lost $82 a month causing the average SNAP benefit to fall to a meager $6 a person per day. In Knox & Waldo Counties the average cost per meal is $4.68. In total Mainers lost $18 million per month in federal funding. The “hunger cliff” hit older Mainers especially hard many of them being reduced to the monthly minimum of just $23 or less than $1.00 per day.

The typical Mainer spends $3,736 every year on groceries and beverages – far more than the national average of $2,780.