Support for Public Television Means Food for Hungry Maine Families

“Feed a Family” Television Pledge Drive to Begin November 26 on MPBN

(Lewiston, Maine) – Beginning November 26, viewers of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network who make donations to the network during its next pledge drive will also be doing their part to help feed the hungry in Maine.

“Feed a Family” is the theme of the upcoming MPBN TV Pledge Drive, which begins on November 26th and continues through December 11th.

The idea is simple – for every pledge made to MPBN during the “Feed a Family” campaign, regardless of the amount, the Maine Community Foundation (MCF) will donate enough money from its own (and separate) donations to the Good Shepherd Food Bank to feed a family of four for about 12 days.

“We’ve done this during past radio pledge drives and the outpouring of support was just tremendous,” says Jennifer Foley, MPBN’s V.P. for Development, who emphasized that no money pledged to one non-profit entity will go the other.

“One hundred percent of the money pledged to MPBN stays with MPBN. Similarly, one hundred percent of the funds donated by the Maine Community Foundation to the Good Shepherd Food Bank will be used to feed families in Maine,” she said.

Working with a variety of businesses, individual donors and local farms, Good Shepherd Food Bank distributes over 12 million pounds of food per year to all 16 counties in Maine from its distribution centers in Auburn, Brewer and Portland.

MPBN has partnered with the Maine Community Foundation and Good Shepherd Food Bank in the past during radio pledge drives, which not only raised money for the public broadcaster but also raised the public’s awareness of “food insecurity,” which more Mainers are facing as the slow economic recovery drags on.

Those who suffer from food insecurity are not necessarily the chronically homeless or even the unemployed. In many cases, families of working Mainers who earn subsistence-level wages may not eat for a day or two until the next paycheck comes in, or may only eat one meal a day as the pantry supplies dwindle and before they can be restocked.

“Maine families should not have to face a choice between paying for food instead of, for example, medications or heating oil,” says Foley. “We Mainers are a proud lot, and we know there are hard-working people out there who need just a little help but who are too proud to ask for it. Part of this effort is to say to them, ‘we know times are tough, but please know there are people who care and who want to help."

“At MPBN, we don’t have the food or the trucks or the storage facility,” Foley added, “but we do have a pretty big megaphone.”

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