Campus Event Will Pack Meals for Maine’s Hungry

April 9, 2025 |

Many organizations across Maine join credit unions in the fight to end hunger—a fight that has become far more challenging as food banks and pantries face drastic financial adjustments due to cuts in funding. As hunger relief organizations face these challenges, the demand for food is only increasing. Luckily, those of us working to address hunger are not wavering—including the University of Maine (UMaine). 

UMaine will be hosting its annual Maine Day Meal Packout on April 30 at Memorial Gym in Orono. Since its inception, this student-led initiative has provided thousands of meals to some of Maine’s most food insecure counties, and with community support, they hope to feed even more people this year!

In 2024, the Maine Day Meal Packout donated meals to organizations throughout four Maine counties: nine organizations in Washington County, eight in Penobscot County, one in Waldo County, and one in Hancock County. This year, they are expanding their impact even farther, with confirmed donations already going to two organizations in Piscataquis County and one in Kennebec County.

There are two ways your credit union can get involved.

  1. Volunteer:  Volunteer assistance is needed on Wednesday, April 30 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm to pack meals. Whether you or your colleague(s) would like to attend the whole day or simply take a quick lunch break to lend a hand, any assistance provided will be appreciated. Please contact Ashley Regan, Partnerships & Volunteer Coordinator, at ashley.p.regan@maine.edu for more information and to sign up.
  2. Fund Meals for Mainers: The students are working with Matthew Martin and his nonprofit, EndHungerNE, to assemble the food that will be donated to local pantries and service organizations. Martin was the keynote speaker at our Ending Hunger Luncheon in February. At a cost of $0.37 per meal, financial donations of any size will go a long way to pack more healthy meals for Mainers in need.

The League is pleased to use some of our own Campaign for Ending Hunger funds to cover the cost of 3,500 meals in honor of the Campaign’s 35th anniversary this year. If you would like to use some of your credit union’s ending hunger dollars to support this effort, please email Jen Burke at jburke@mainecul.org.

You can also support the Foundation directly by making an online donation at http://our.umaine.edu/mainedaypackout. Be sure to designate your gift to the ‘Honors College Hungry 100K: Maine Day Meal Pack-Out.’ Checks are also accepted and should be made payable to the University of Maine Foundation and sent to:

University of Maine Foundation
Buchanan Alumni House
Two Alumni Place
Orono, ME 04469-5792

If mailing a payment, please specify that the funds should support the Maine Day Meal Packout/Hungry 100K, Program #55396.

Please contact Burke if you have questions or would like to speak with someone at UMaine about the upcoming event.