Grants distributed to 70 Maine nonprofits across all 16 counties
Portland, Maine – The John T. Gorman Foundation has awarded $1.2 million in grants to support nonprofits that provide food and shelter to Mainers in need through its 2026 Direct Services Grant Program. This year’s program distributed funding to 70 nonprofit organizations in all 16 Maine counties. Organizations and funding amounts are listed below, and full descriptions are available on our website.
“Food and housing are foundational to the health and well-being of our communities, but as costs continue to rise and assistance is cut, these essentials are becoming increasingly out of reach for many Maine people,” said Nicole Witherbee, President & CEO of the John T. Gorman Foundation. “These grants will support nonprofits across the state as they respond to growing demand and work to ensure that as many Mainers as possible have food on the table and a safe place to call home. The John T. Gorman Foundation is grateful for their efforts.”
In response to rising needs, this year’s Direct Services Grant Program focused on supporting organizations in providing food, shelter, or both to the populations they serve. In addition to the $1.2 million announced today, the Foundation also provided $100,000 grants to both Preble Street and Good Shepherd Food Bank earlier this year to support their statewide work in these critical areas.
Hunger and Housing Data Demonstrate Need
Feeding America’s latest Map the Meal Gap data shows that hunger in Maine is on the rise. The study estimates that more than 203,000 people in Maine, including nearly 50,600 children, experience food insecurity. Maine’s child food insecurity rate – more than 20% – remains the highest in New England.
In addition, sharply rising housing costs have contributed to housing insecurity in Maine. From 2021 to 2025, the state’s median home price increased 37%; from 2019 to 2024, median rent rose 33%.
| Organization | City | Grant Amount | Grant Description |
| Area Interfaith Outreach | Rockland | $20,000 | To provide support for food acquisition for four food-related programs. |
| Aroostook Area Agency on Aging | Presque Isle | $20,000 | To provide support for Aroostook Area Agency on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program. |
| Augusta Teen Center of The Boys and Girls Club | Augusta | $20,000 | To provide basic needs support for underserved teens in Augusta, Maine. |
| Bangor Area Homeless Shelter | Bangor | $30,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Bethel Area District Exchange and Food Pantry | Bethel | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Burlington Food Pantry | Burlington | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Capital Area New Mainers Project | Augusta | $18,000 | To provide support for the Better Housing Program. |
| Caring Unlimited | Sanford | $30,000 | To provide support for emergency shelter and basic needs supports for domestic violence survivors. |
| Center for a Green Future DBA Growing to Give | Brunswick | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| CHiP, Inc. | Newcastle | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| City of Presque Isle | Presque Isle | $10,000 | To provide support for the City of Presque Isle’s Community Outreach Program. |
| Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust / Twin Villages Foodbank Farm | Alna | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Come Spring Food Pantry | Union | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Community Care | Bangor | $30,000 | To provide support for Community Care’s Shaw House Housing Program for youth experiencing homelessness. |
| Community Concepts | Lewiston | $10,000 | To provide support to CCI’s food pantries. |
| Cumberland County Food Security Council | Portland | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| East Grand Health Center | Danforth | $15,000 | To provide support for the East Grand Health Center Food Panty. |
| Eastern Area Agency on Aging | Brewer | $30,000 | To provide support for Eastern Agency on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program. |
| Eastport Public Schools | Pembroke | $15,000 | To provide support for Shead High School’s Sharing Shelves program. |
| Families First Community Center | Ellsworth | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Farms for Food Equity | Cape Elizabeth | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Finding Our Voices | Camden | $20,000 | To provide support for apartment security deposits for survivors of domestic violence. |
| Food For All Services | Portland | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Franklin County Childrens Task Force | Farmington | $15,000 | To provide support for Franklin County Children’s Task Force’s Home and Hunger project. |
| The Gathering Place | Brunswick | $5,000 | To provide support for The Gathering Place’s Low Barrier Meal Program. |
| Greater Portland Family Promise | Portland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| H.O.M.E. Inc. | Orland | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Harrison Food Bank | Harrison | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Healthy Acadia | Ellsworth | $15,000 | To support the Downeast Gleaning Initiative, Folklore Farm, and Downeast Restorative Harvest programs. |
| Healthy Island Project | Stonington | $15,000 | To provide support for Healthy Island Project’s food insecurity efforts and pantries. |
| Heart of Maine Resource Center | Dexter | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Homeless Services of Aroostook Inc. | Presque Isle | $30,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Homeworthy | Rockland | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Hope Acts | Portland | $30,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Hope And Justice Project Inc | Presque Isle | $20,000 | To support Hope and Justice Project’s basic needs and shelter programming. |
| Intercultural Community Center | Westbrook | $20,000 | To provide support for the International Community Center’s food security programs. |
| Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber Of Commerce Foundation | LEWISTON | $30,000 | To support Gather to Grow’s direct food access programs in Lewiston-Auburn. |
| Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry | Ellsworth | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Locker Project | Portland | $15,000 | To support the Locker Project’s food assistance programs. |
| Lubec Community Outreach Center | Lubec | $10,000 | To support Lubec Community Outreach Center’s Community Table Program. |
| Machias Area Food Pantry (MAFP) | Machias | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Maine Access Points | Brunswick | $17,000 | To provide food access through Maine Access Point’s existing direct service and mobile outreach programs. |
| Central Hall Commons | DOVER FOXCROFT | $15,000 | To provide general operating support to the Helping Hands with Heart/Maine Highlands Integrated Response Network. |
| Maine Mobile Health Program Inc | Augusta | $30,000 | To support MMHP’s provision of food to Maine farmworkers and their families. |
| Maine Multicultural Center | Brewer | $10,000 | To support Maine Multicultural Center’s provision of emergency housing and food assistance. |
| Maine Seacoast Mission | Northeast Harbor | $25,000 | To support Maine Seacoast Mission’s food programs. |
| Midcoast Youth Center | Bath | $15,000 | To support Midcoast Youth Center’s three core programs for youth experiencing food insecurity and housing instability. |
| Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition | Belfast | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter | Waterville | $15,000 | To support Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter’s low-barrier emergency shelter and related services. |
| Millinocket Regional Hospital | Millinocket | $10,000 | To support Millinocket Regional Hospital’s Help Yourself Food Shelf program. |
| Moving Forward For Maine Reentry Sisters Corporation | Portland | $10,000 | To support Reentry Sisters’ Returning Home with Dignity program. |
| MSAD 54 | Skowhegan | $10,000 | To support the food pantry at Somerset Career & Technical Center. |
| New Beginnings | Lewiston | $30,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| OHI | Bangor | $15,000 | To provide support for the Brewer Area Food Pantry. |
| Piscataquis Regional Food Center | Dover Foxcroft | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Rangeley Health and Wellness | Rangeley | $20,000 | To provide support for the Food for All: Rapid Relief program. |
| Rural Community Action Ministry | Leeds | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Safe Voices | Auburn | $25,000 | To provide emergency shelter and supportive services for survivors of domestic and dating abuse, sexual exploitation, and sex trafficking. |
| Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center | Biddeford | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Southern Maine Agency on Aging | Biddeford | $30,000 | To provide support for the Housing Connections program. |
| St. George’s Episcopal Church | Sanford | $7,500 | To provide support for St. George’s Community Outreach Ministry. |
| Strategies for a Stronger Sanford | Sanford | $15,000 | To provide funding for the Sanford Backpack Program. |
| Tedford Housing | Brunswick | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| The Drop-in Center | Auburn | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Through These Doors (formerly Family Crisis Services) | Portland | $17,500 | To provide direct financial assistance to victims and survivors of domestic abuse to increase access to food and housing/shelter. |
| Town of Danforth, Maine | Danforth | $5,000 | To provide support for Danforth Livable Communities’ Breaking Bread with Others program. |
| Trinity Jubilee Center | Lewiston | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness Inc. | Bangor | $20,000 | To provide support for Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness’ Traditional Mobile Food Truck Distribution program. |
| Winthrop Food Pantry | Winthrop | $10,000 | To provide general operating support. |
| Women for Healthy Rural Living | Milbridge | $5,000 | To provide support to Incredible Edible Milbridge. |
