Preparing for a cold, hungry winter

In 2018, two years before the pandemic, Maine had the highest food insecurity rate in New England and the 12th-highest rate in the nation, according to a study from the left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy. And 28 percent of households headed by Mainers of color were food-insecure — more than twice the rate of white, non-Hispanic households. Non-white Mainers make up 7 percent of the population.

Studies have linked hunger to social problems including chronic poverty, lower academic achievement, and physical and mental health outcomes, said James Myall, a policy analyst with the economic think tank.

Click here to read the full story, first published November 8, 2020, in The Maine Monitor.