Waldo
Waldo County at a Glance:
- 21.3% of children under 18 live in poverty.**
- 30.2% of children in Waldo County receive SNAP benefits, 61.8% of school-aged children are eligible for subsidized school meals.**
- 26.2% of children are living with food insecurity.**
- The infant mortality rate in Waldo County is 8.7 per 1,000.**
- 8.5 per every 1,000 children in Waldo County are in DHHS custody.**
- 54% of children in Waldo County participate in MaineCare.**
- 43.2% of people in Waldo County are not currently in the workforce.*
- 19.5% of the population is under the age of 18.*
- 34.1% of the population achieved a high school degree; 11.2% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.*
- The high school graduation rate for Waldo County is 86.7%.**
*Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2012-2016
**Source: Maine Kids Count
Grants Awarded in this Region
| Date | Organization | Award | Description | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Belfast Soup Kitchen | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. | Belfast, ME |
| 2022 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. | Rockland, ME |
| 2022 | KVCC Foundation | $15,000 | To support the KVCC Food Pantry's shift from stocking mostly dry goods to offering perishable fresh produce, meat, and dairy items and to fund a part-time, one year food pantry coordinator to grow the capacity of the program. | Fairfield, ME |
| 2021 | Belfast Public Health Nursing Association | $15,000 | To assist low income people in Waldo County with their food, shelter, health, and safety needs where no other supports exist, or in urgent situations while other supports and resources are being secured. | Rockland, ME |
| 2021 | Belfast Soup Kitchen | $15,000 | To provide general operating support. | Belfast, ME |
| 2021 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $20,000 | To provide general operating support. | Rockland, ME |
| 2021 | Maine Youth Alliance | $25,000 | To increase access to youth and adolescent mental health, wellness, and community supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Belfast, ME |
| 2021 | Unity Barn Raisers, Waldo County Bounty | $15,000 | To provide general operating support for Waldo County Bounty. | Unity, ME |
| 2020 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $25,000 | To provide general operating support. | Rockland, ME |
| 2019 | Beacon Project | $10,000 | To fund transportation costs for low-income island residents to medical and other critical appointments on the mainland. | Islesboro, ME |
| 2019 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $15,000 | To provide support for general operations to serve homeless clients in Knox, Lincoln and parts of Waldo County. | Rockland, ME |
| 2019 | Northern Light Inland Hospital | $25,000 | To support on-site food, food security resources, and transportation vouchers for primary care patients at Northern Light Inland Hospital who are screened and identified as in need of additional supports. | Bangor, ME |
| 2018 | Belfast Public Health Nursing Association | $22,500 | To provide direct outreach, medical care and support to low-income and at-risk children and adults in Waldo County who require assistance in meeting their basic needs of shelter, food, medical care, and safety. | Belfast, ME |
| 2018 | Goodwill Industries of Northern New England | $20,000 | To provide support for the Job Connection Bangor program, providing wrap-around workforce development services to low-income adults with multiple barriers to successful employment such as food scarcity, unstable housing, and transportation issues. | Portland, ME |
| 2018 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $15,000 | To provide support for general operations to serve homeless clients in Knox, Lincoln and parts of Waldo County. | Rockland, ME |
| 2018 | Waldo Community Action Partners | $20,000 | To provide support for emergency home repairs for low-income families in Waldo County in order to prevent homelessness. | Belfast, ME |
| 2017 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $25,000 | To provide support for mental health programs serving homeless clients in Knox, Lincoln and parts of Waldo County. | Rockland, ME |
| 2017 | Unity Barn Raisers | $12,000 | To provide meals for low-income families in Waldo County. | Unity, ME |
| 2016 | Island Institute | $300,000 | A three year grant to provide business support services to small businesses in rural coastal areas and islands in Maine. | Rockland, ME |
| 2016 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $25,000 | To provide support for mental health programs serving homeless clients in Knox County. | Rockland, ME |
| 2015 | Food AND Medicine, Jobs with Justice Education Fund | $15,000 | To provide funding to deliver healthy, locally grown food to SNAP users, including families in crisis, laid-off workers, seniors, and people with disabilities who need homecare. | Brewer, ME |
| 2015 | Jackson Food Pantry | $5,000 | To provide food to low-income children, families and seniors in Waldo County. | Jackson, ME |
| 2015 | Knox County Homeless Coalition | $25,000 | To support mental health programs serving homeless clients in Knox County. | Rockland, ME |
| 2015 | Maine Farmland Trust | $25,000 | To support programs that help address the needs of food insecure people in Maine. | Belfast, ME |
| 2014 | Maine Farmland Trust | $15,000 | To provide funds for the Local Food for Seniors program. | Belfast, ME |
| 2014 | Volunteers of America Northern New England | $20,000 | To provide funding support and staffing for mental health counseling to incarcerated men. | Brunswick, ME |
| 2013 | Cancer Support Center of Maine | $5,000 | To provide gas cards for cancer patients traveling to and from medical appointments. | Bucksport, ME |
| 2013 | Central Maine Area Agency on Aging | $25,000 | To provide direct services to low income seniors and their family caregivers to help them remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible. | Augusta, ME |
| 2013 | Maine Farmland Trust | $25,000 | To continue a highly successful Community Farm Share program targeting low income seniors. | Belfast, ME |
| 2013 | Maine Seacoast Mission | $25,000 | To support elders who wish to age in place in their homes and communities to do so successfully. | Bar Harbor, ME |
| 2013 | Penobscot Bay YMCA | $15,000 | To expand existing programs for seniors to include fitness classes, transportation and social opportunities. | Rockport, ME |
| 2013 | Penobscot Community Health Care | $25,000 | To increase provision of home-based primary care to seniors with chronic conditions, allowing them to age in place and maintain their health. | Bangor, ME |
| 2012 | Beacon Project | $5,600 | To fund transportation costs for elderly residents to medical appointments on the mainland. | Islesboro, ME |
| 2012 | Maine Farmland Trust | $50,000 | To provide access to local farm products through free farm shares in Waldo and Kennebec counties to low-income people facing food insecurity . | Belfast, ME |
| 2012 | Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast | $25,000 | To support the Court Diversion program for juvenile/young adult offenders. | Belfast, ME |
| 2012 | Unity Barn Raisers | $11,000 | To provide high nutritional value meals to low-income families in Waldo County. | Unity, ME |
| 2012 | Waldo Community Action Partners | $12,500 | To support early education services for children and adults from low-income and underserved households. | Belfast, ME |