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A Letter from Our Board President
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Dear Friends,
It has been an incredible few months for all of us. While some of the situations have been dire and devastating, I am also hearing phrases of "silver linings" or "we've certainly learned a lot from all this...". The collaboration across our region has never been greater - everyone working tirelessly to support those who need us. Food is being shared among all of the food assistance agencies, the Knox County Food Council has been meeting weekly to work collaboratively, and our partnerships with organizations like Community Investors of Knox County, One Less Worry, and the Midcoast Diaper Project have never been more important. We say it all the time: "Together is Better".
As a social service agency serving over 300 households each month, I can tell you that our gratitude from your support has never been greater. Every client interaction warms our hearts; the Thank Yous mean the world to us. To be in service to others is why we do what we do every single day. Our AIO Volunteers have worked tirelessly to help those among of us who need us. We are consistently serving between 25-35 households per day. Many families have benefited from the extra unemployment, the stimulus checks, schools who provided a good supply of food sent home, as well as extra SNAP benefits - all of which have helped our families in significant ways. Parents have also had to stay home with their children and navigate the online world for both school and work - running errands has not been the easiest of tasks.
That Being Said ...
We have our eyes wide open for what is it to come. We are bracing for the impact. AIO is investing in ourselves as we prepare for the next few months, and beyond. As we highlighted last month, recent studies shared by Feeding America / Good Shepherd Food Bank show that the statewide rates of hunger are projected to grow by as much as 40% in 2020. Knox County has the 4th highest rates in the state, with food insecurity projected to increase 46% overall. Child hunger is projected to increase by 52%. Food insecurity is not going away anytime soon and AIO will be here for anyone who needs support.
And, as you probably know, AIO also has a significant Energy Assistance Program - we help our families with heating (100 gallons once per season) and we help prevent electricity disconnection when we can. We must start early to plan for the winter, when we will start providing heating assistance once again. We are keeping our eye on what the Maine Public Utility Commission is doing with electricity disconnections - this could have an incredible impact on our community.
We are now in the final leg of our New Building Fundraising Campaign. As I write this note to you, we have just $50,000 left to raise in order to open our doors. The support of this community has been truly amazing - and we are incredible grateful for everything you have done for us! Stay tuned for details on a Ribbon Cutting ceremony - more will be announced soon.
We've said it before, and will say it again: with your support we will serve the community in the best way possible. Our commitment has only increased in recent months, and it will continue, stronger than ever. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions, ideas or would like to discuss how you can help. We welcome you to our team.
With gratitude,
Liz Jenkins, Board President
email: boardpresident@aiofoodpantry.org
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Welcome to our New Board Member
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 AIO Food and Energy Assistance is pleased to welcome Ted Long to AIO’s Board of Directors. Ted is an active community member and brings a lot of experience to AIO’s Board. Ted served as President of Elizabethtown College (PA) from 1996-2011, and from 2004-2020 he served as a trustee of Capital University where he chaired three separate committees and led a task force on “sustainable excellence”.
“I am excited to join the team at AIO, which does such impressive work to combat food and energy insecurity in the Mid-Coast," Ted stated. “In this challenging time, the organization’s mission is more important than ever, and I look forward to the work of strengthening its capacity to serve our community.”
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A note from Warehouse Manager, Joe Ryan:
Our summer lunch kit program is off to a great start, serving as many as 50 kids five days of healthy lunches each week. Through this program, many families have been introduced to AIO Food Assistance and have discovered services for their families. They have also learned how easy and accessible AIO is. While operating under emergency COVID-19 conditions, visits to the pantry are not currently limited to one visit per month. Clients are encouraged to come whenever they need our help. Through the summer lunch program, we have been able to connect with families that need us now.
Preparations for opening the new building continue as warehouse equipment has begun to arrive. Many items on our list were acquired by donation thanks to neighbor Target Marketing. A pallet lift, rolling shelves and carts, scales, and other equipment were checked off our list, and we would like to express our most sincere appreciation. Other donated items, such as chairs and desks that we were not able to utilize in our current building, are beginning to populate the new offices. Remaining items on our furnishings list have been ordered and scheduled for delivery in the coming days.
Area military veterans made two pick up runs to Good Shepherd Food Bank this week, and our first receiving of food to the loading dock of the new building. We are always grateful for their service, both to our country and our community. We are proud that they were the first to land on our dock!
Watch the video of this very special delivery HERE.
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 We are excited to receive an $8,000 grant from the Nourishing Neighbors Foundation! During this exceptionally challenging time, we were fortunate to receive a generous gift that will help us meet the increased demand for food assistance. The grant is meant to help feed kids and families during summer. As we are all aware, hunger relief programs like ours are stretched beyond capacity due the surge in unemployment and other economic and social fallout from the pandemic. In response to what quickly became a critical need, Albertsons Companies pledged $15 Million to Help Feed Children and Families During Summer, part of the Foundations’ Nourishing Neighbors Initiative.
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As we announced last month, we are providing Summer Lunch Kits which provides 5 days of lunches and snack to any family in Knox County who needs one. On our first day of distribution, we provided 33 Lunch Kits. 
Summer Lunch Kits are available at the AIO Food Pantry every Monday throughout the summer between 9:30am - 12:00pm.
We are grateful to be part of the Nourishing Neighbors Family! The support, partnership, and generosity are truly making a difference.
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This AIO Weekend Meal food assistance program
ensures that kids and their families have snacks and meals on the weekends, an often vulnerable time for children in particular.
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AIO WEEKEND MEAL PROGRAM WELCOMES NEW MANAGER, MOLLY O'ROURKE
 We are very excited to announce that Molly O’Rourke has been hired as AIO’s new Weekend Meal Program Manager, a role essential to ensuring that families with children have sufficient food during the weekend. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Molly join AIO at this critical time. We are thrilled to have her lead the program into its next chapter,” shares Liz Jenkins, AIO Board President.
Molly brings a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm to this new role. She returned to her home state of Maine in 2013 to raise her family and build a small business. She lives in Camden with her 7-year-old son. She is the Owner of One & Supp, a creative design studio specializing in events, and in 2019 she opened a brick and mortar space in downtown Camden called Betty Forever.
You can contact Molly at weekendmeal@aiofoodpantry.org
Learn more about Molly
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Harvest Our Fields and Feed Our Hungry
 AIO is a partner of the Knox County Gleaners. Gleaning has been an important form of social welfare for well over 2,000 years. Volunteers work with local farms to glean vegetables that are taken to local food pantries for our neighbors in need. The Knox County Gleaners have two farms that are looking for help.
- Tuesdays 9-12 @ Erickson Fields, Rte 90, Rockport
- Wednesdays 9-12 Hatchet Cove Farm, Finntown Road, Warren
If you are interested in being on the Knox County Gleaners Volunteers list - Sign up here Learn more by following them on Facebook.
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Remote AIO Volunteers Needed
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 For everyone's safety, we are limiting the number of in-person volunteers we have in the food pantry. We do have other activities should your time and skill set meet our needs. All volunteering opportunities below will be done from your home and training/ongoing support will be provided. Time commitment is entirely up to you.
Please get in touch if questions (email@aiofoodpantry.org) or complete our online Volunteer Sign Up.
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- Data Wizard: Oversee our data and reporting function
- Public Relations: Write our Press Releases and other writing projects
- Annual Report: Write and pull together our annual report
- Technology: Help us set up our new equipment (generously donated to us by Good Shepherd)
- Grant Writing: Write and pull together grant applications
- Development Assistant: Research grant and corporate sponsorship opportunities
- Organize our Archives: Go through approximately 10 boxes of AIO History and paperwork; scan documents of our 30-year history; organize files and paperwork
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Progress Report: New Building
1A Gordon Drive, in the Rockland Industrial Park,
just beyond the current food pantry located at the corners of
Thomaston Street and Gordon Drive (across from the South School)
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We are now just $50k from reaching our goal to open our new facility! The goal is so close. We are very excited about what this new building will mean for the community.
We invite you to watch this short film about the building project. Our new facility doubles our footprint, provides comfortable client service spaces, and creates more efficiency. The sooner we can move in, the sooner we can provide More Food, More Often to anyone who needs our support.
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If you are moved to do so, donations can be made on our website.
Contributions by check may be sent to:
AIO Energy and Food Assistance - New Building
PO Box 113, Rockland, ME 04841
Thank you. Your support means a lot.
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Thank you for your generosity to our clients and our community!
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