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With the first day of summer just two weeks away, the end of the school year is fast-approaching. While summer break is often seen as a fun and carefree time for children, it can also be a challenging season for many families across Maine. For those facing food insecurity, school meals serve as a vital lifeline—one that disappears when school is out. Fortunately, summer meal programs offered by local school districts and community organizations help fill this gap, ensuring children in every corner of our state continue to have access to nutritious food.
As in previous years, our partners at Full Plates Full Potential shared with the League what they received for 2025 summer meal grant requests. These requests are detailed in this document. With rising food and labor costs—combined with ongoing uncertainty around future school meal funding—the need for financial support for summer meal programs is especially great this year.
If your credit union has Ending Hunger dollars available and would like to help Full Plates Full Potential fulfill—or partially fulfill—a summer meal grant request, please email Jen Burke at jburke@mainecul.org by close of business on Monday, June 16. Any amount your credit union is able to contribute will make a meaningful difference and help offset the rising costs associated with meeting these needs. If you’ve already committed a donation—thank you for your generosity! Please note, if a school or organization in your credit union’s field of membership is not included on list, they may not have applied for a summer grant from Full Plates.
Last summer, thanks to your generosity, Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger donated more than $16,500 to support local summer meal programs. Even though Maine credit unions and our partners recently completed a successful fundraising drive for Good Shepherd Food Bank, the League is confident we can come together once again to support Full Plates Full Potential this year.