Local Campaign Raises $30K to Feed Waldo County During COVID-19

WALDO COUNTY, MAINE — June 1, 2020 — The Waldo County Bounty campaign hit a major milestone this week by raising more than $30,000 in cash donations. Launched less than month ago, Waldo County Bounty is a community fundraising and resource-sharing initiative designed to address food insecurity in Waldo County during the COVID-19 crisis. Its top priority is raising funds to purchase food from local farms for local food pantries.

“The response from local people has been generous and impressive,” said Waldo County Bounty campaign manager Sara Trunzo. “Our initial momentum demonstrates that rural Mainers are compassionate and innovative, independent-yet-interdependent—and that is no surprise.”

Waldo County Bounty launched on May 3, 2020, with the goal of raising $100,000, and most of the $30,000 came in the form of individual donations. Small grants were also provided by the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and the Onion Foundation. Local businesses have also donated an additional $10,000 in in-kind goods and services.

Even prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, Maine ranked first in New England and 12th in the country for low food security, yet Maine food pantries did not receive any funding from the USDA’s $3B hunger relief aid package in May. Wholesale producers have lost accounts from institutions and restaurants and are seeing their goods spoil, and more Mainers could face unemployment if the Coronavirus pandemic continues. Waldo County Bounty is striving to get ahead of these challenges by working with organizations and businesses on the frontlines of our food system.

Backed by an experienced team of community leaders, Waldo County Bounty will move financial resources into the following channels, with as few impediments as possible, to address emergency food system and hunger relief:

* DIRECT PURCHASES FROM LOCAL FARMS for food pantries and soup kitchens, a win-win for farmers and food assistance clients, to be orchestrated by Daybreak Growers Alliance in partnership with Waldo County farmers;
* FUNDING TO FOOD PANTRIES + SOUP KITCHENS so they can buy non-perishable foods, sanitary items, safety materials, cleaning supplies, and keep up on operating costs;
* SUPPORT TO GLEANING. Unity Barn Raisers’ Veggies for All will redirect surplus food from farms and food businesses and distribute it through established hunger relief programs; and
* SUPPORT TO GARDENERS, to provide material, educational, and other resources to help gardeners improve their own personal food security and/or share their crops with others, in coordination with Waldo County Cooperative Extension, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), and MainersTogether.

By doing this work through a collaborative, community-informed, and strengths-based approach, Waldo County Bounty will also hold space for cross-sector action planning and the organic development of other efforts. A few examples of its current collaborators include Good Shepherd Food Bank, MOFGA, Belfast Garden Club, and The Lost Kitchen.

Interested parties can donate funds or sign up to volunteer at Waldocountybounty.org, as well as share the campaign's urgent message by liking its Facebook and Instagram feeds.