This conversation with Ali Waks Adams was soul feeding for me- I love talking to people who are passionate about helping to solve food insecurity, and Ali is on the board of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program (MPHCC) in my hometown of Brunswick, Maine, and she's sharing some of the things that they're doing that have been working to feed the people of Maine. (I said Maine, not just Brunswick - Ali says they feed people from 14 out of the 16 counties in Maine!) We talked a little about the people who volunteer (over 500!) and the people receiving from MCHPP as well. We both cried a little...MCHPP opened in 1983, and has grown in strides every year; to serving 1.2 MILLION meals in 2024, and now have a professional community kitchen to offer to local businesses and a 2nd building to hold donated food, just acquired 2-3 years ago. MCHPP receives extra foods from several farmers, and Growing to Give, where I volunteered, offering their clients fresh, healthy food to add to the shelf-stable foods from grocery stores. I've delivered several times from some of the roles I've held through work and volunteering. MCHPP hosts regular fundraisers - there's an exciting one coming up on September 24th that's put on by local chefs and with donated food that's organized by Ali! Ali moved to Brunswick from NYC and Philadelphia, and in order to meet her neighbors, she started volunteering at MCHPP, and fell in love with the people she served. She is a professional private chef; her business is called Balaboosta, and she has sure made a name for herself! Balaboosta's tagline is "a boutique catering company in Mid Coast Maine, sometimes it’s fancy, sometimes it’s cozy, always delicious." She is very passionate about feeding people, and it shows in everything she does!You can learn all about MCHPP at their website: https://www.mchpp.org/MCHPP is on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/midcoasthungerpreventionprThey're on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MidCoastHungerPreventionProgramAnd on Linkedin here: Send me a message!Support the showPlease follow Grounded In Maine podcast on Instagram here YouTube channel link is here You can DM me there or email me at amysgardenjam@gmail.com Website for Amy's Garden Jam is https://amysgardenjam.com/ (podcast has its own tab on this site!) Amy's email newsletter: https://amy-fagan.kit.com/499688fe6a How Do I Get There From Here by Jane Bolduc - listen to more at https://www.janebolduc.com/Podcast cover by Becca Kofron- follow here on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/cute_but_loud/ and check out her awesome art projects. Grounded in Maine Podcast is hosted by Buzzsprout, the easiest podcast hosting platform with the best customer service! Learn more at https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1851361 You can support this podcast one time (or many) with the Buy me a coffee/Hot Chocolate link here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/groundedinmaine Grounded in Maine Podcast is sponsored by ESG Review. Learn more about the good they're doing at https://esgreview.net/