#Maine #GovernorJanetMills releases $1.25 million to help #FoodBanks respond to #SNAP losses

Mills also has not ruled out calling a special session of the Legislature so roughly 170,000 Mainers don’t lose federal food assistance.

by Randy Billings. October 30, 2025

FALMOUTH — "Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday that her administration is releasing an additional $1.25 million in funding for food pantries and anti-hunger programs in a bid to keep nearly 170,000 low-income Maine families from losing assistance during the federal government shutdown.

"Mills said the funding would be distributed through the #GoodShepherdFoodBank and the #AreaAgenciesOnAging to support programs such as #MealsOnWheels and other anti-hunger organizations.

" 'When the federal government fails, Maine will not,' Mills said in a written statement. 'When challenges arise, Maine people step up.'

"Mills is using $1 million from the governor’s contingency account and the John T. Gorman Foundation is providing $250,000. The Portland nonprofit noted that 55,000 children could lose food assistance.

"Heather Paquette, president of Good Shepherd, said in a written statement that the funding will help support nearly 600 food pantries and other partner organizations across the state.

" 'Our partners on the front lines are facing an overwhelming need for food right now and these funds will go to work immediately to help ensure everyone in Maine has access to the food they need to feed themselves and their families during this uncertain time,' Paquette said.

[...]

"Some other states are also announcing emergency funding for food banks and food assistance programs in anticipation of the loss of SNAP benefits. #Minnesota, for example, has announced $4 million for food assistance programs, and #NewYork is committing $30 million."

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/29/maine-gov-janet-mills-considering-all-options-to-respond-to-loss-of-snap/

Archived version:
https://archive.fo/1nXLP

#USPol #MainePol #MaineResists
#Resistance #ResistTrump #TrumpSucks #TrumpIsABully #TrumpIsAFascist #SNAPCuts #USDACuts #HungerGames #KillThePoor #FoodStamps #FoodInsecurity #District13 #Mainers

#Maine among dozens of states suing #Trump administration over #SNAP funding

by Russ Reed, October 30, 2025

AUGUSTA, Maine — "Maine's attorney general is part of a coalition that sued the Trump administration for suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

"In their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Office of Management and Budget and their respective secretaries, 23 attorneys general and three governors claim the USDA does not have the authority to suspend SNAP.

" 'Forty-two million Americans, including 169,000 Mainers, are going to go hungry this Thanksgiving because the Administration is simply refusing to use the billions available to prevent this,' Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement. 'It is unconscionably cruel and unlawful.'

"The coalition suing the Trump administration said that on Oct. 10, the USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits if the government shutdown continues.

"According to the coalition, the USDA has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress in the event of a government shutdown. The coalition also claims the USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during the shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP.

"The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (#DHHS) announced on Oct. 21 it would not receive November's SNAP funding.

"According to Maine DHHS, nearly 12.5% of the state's population receives SNAP benefits. State health officials also said the rate approaches or surpasses 20% in five of Maine's 16 counties: #Androscoggin, #Aroostook, #Piscataquis, #Somerset and #Washington.

"Maine DHHS also said nearly 75% of the state's SNAP households include at least one working adult, more than half include a person with a disability, 43% include an older adult and more than one-third include children. The average monthly SNAP benefit for a family of four in Maine is $572, according to DHHS.

"Maine DHHS shared the following information for the state's SNAP recipients:

- November's federal SNAP benefits cannot be issued until the government shutdown ends or until new guidance is provided by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.
- At this time, SNAP benefits already loaded onto EBT cards remain available for use to purchase food.
- Applications, renewals and other updates continue to be accepted and processed by Maine DHHS during the federal government shutdown.
- SNAP recipients are encouraged to sign up for e-noticing through My Maine Connection, which provides the fastest access to updates and notifications.
- Recipients should ensure that contact information, such as their phone number and mailing address, remains current with Maine DHHS.

"For help finding information on other available resources, call 211 or text your ZIP code to 898-211. You can also visit 211Maine.org. When the government shutdown ends, more information will be available about the future of federal SNAP benefits.

"Maine DHHS will share updates as soon as additional information becomes available.

"Joining Frey in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of #Arizona, #California, #Colorado, #Connecticut, #Delaware, the #DistrictOfColumbia, #Hawaii, #Illinois, #Maryland, #Massachusetts, #Michigan, #Minnesota, #Nevada, #NewJersey, #NewMexico, #NewYork, #NorthCarolina, #Oregon, #RhodeIsland, #Vermont, #WashingtonState and #Wisconsin. The governors of #Kansas, #Kentucky and #Pennsylvania are also part of the lawsuit."

Source:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-sues-trump-administration-snap-benefits/69180395

#USPol #MaineResists #Resistance #ResistTrump #TrumpSucks #TrumpIsABully #TrumpIsAFascist #USPol #SNAPCuts #USDACuts #HungerGames #KillThePoor #FoodStamps #FoodInsecurity

#GovernorJanetMills calls on #Trump to tap emergency reserves to fund #FoodStamps

by Christopher Burns, October 30, 2025

Excerpt: "Mills and the other governors said in their letter that the anti-hunger program prevents low-income Americans from having to make 'impossible choices' between eating or taking medication, between eating or heating their homes, between eating or going to the doctor.

" '#SNAP lifts families out of poverty by allowing them to spend money that would otherwise have been used for food on rent, heat, or health care,' they wrote."

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/G7Ivx

#MainePol #District13 #HungerGames #MaineResists #FoodInsecurity #USPol #TrumpSucks #KillThePoor #USDACuts #SNAPCuts

#FoodPantries in #Maine’s most vulnerable regions brace for #SNAP lapse

by Cameron Levasseur, October 27, 2025

Excerpt: "Rural areas like #AroostookCounty, where SNAP enrollment is well above the state average, are expected to feel a greater strain, as more residents, missing benefits, will turn to food pantries to fill their need.

"Do those pantries have the supply to meet new demand? The short answer is: they’re trying.

" 'There isn’t a program that can replace that,' Blanchard, Catholic Charities’ director of hunger and relief services, said. 'But we’re best suited to do the most good and hit as much need as possible.'

"Food pantries across Maine are already feeling a squeeze levied by cuts to several key #USDA programs earlier this year. In March, the federal government cut approximately $500 million in funding from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (#TEFAP) which provides American-grown food bought by the USDA.

"The Trump administration also ended the #LocalFood Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which gave money to states to purchase locally produced food that would then be distributed to food banks.

" 'Before we were getting maybe four or five cases of something and now we’re getting only maybe one case,' said Rena Kearney, a volunteer at the Mars Hill Community Cupboard — which serves around 14 families weekly. 'If you get one case of string beans, that’s got 24 cans in it, it doesn’t go very far.' "

Read more:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/27/aroostook/food-pantries-maines-vulnerable-regions-snap-lapse-joam40zk0w/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/v6DHW

#Mainers #MaineFoodBanks #HungerGames #USDACuts #SNAPCuts #StarveThePoor #TrumpSucks #USPol #FoodAssistance #FoodInsecurity
#Donations #MaineFoodPantries #FoodPantries

#FoodAid groups bought from #LocalFarmers with #USDA grants. Abrupt cuts leave both struggling.

By Meg Oliver, June 30, 2025

"Four days a week, Maile Auterson and one of her employees drive hundreds of miles across Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas to deliver fresh produce to #FoodDeserts.

"Auterson's nonprofit, Springfield #CommunityGardens, helps #UnderservedSchools, #FoodPantries and senior centers. One center in Ava, #Missouri, is the only place for many where they can get a hot meal.

"Springfield Community Gardens is one of many organizations that relied on grants from the United States Department of Agriculture to distribute produce to schools and low-income communities through two pandemic-era federal programs. They provided about $1 billion in funding to schools and food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers.

"But in March, the USDA abruptly canceled the programs, calling the decision a 'return to long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives.'

"Now, Auterson says, 'some of the most vulnerable people' are without adequate access to food, including children and #SeniorCitizens."

Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-grants-cuts-food-insecurity-farmers/

#USDACuts #USPol #FundingCuts #FoodInsecurity #TrumpSucks #LocalFarms #FoodPantries #HungerGames #SchoolLunches #KillThePoor #TaxBreaksForTheRich

#USDA #USDACuts #SmallFarms

https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/04/29/usda-farms-monroe-greenbrier-cuts/