Infant mortality in the U.S. has declined dramatically since Congress created Medicaid 50 years ago

A paperwork obstacle is denying Maine kids healthy, nutritious school meals

We all know that being hungry can make us irritable, tired, and addled. We only have to watch the recent Snickers™ television commercials to appreciate we are […]

Testimony in Support of LD 380, Resolve, To Establish a Working Group to Aid with the End of Student Hunger

“School is hard enough without having to suffer the maladies that hunger causes. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 […]

Testimony in Opposition to Proposed Cuts to Early Child Care and Education

“Based on research conducted by MECEP last year, we can document the that vital funding for Head Start and child care services not only helps thousands of […]

Child poverty fell in 2013, but median household income continues to go nowhere

Child poverty in Maine fell back to pre-recession levels in 2013, but income for the median household and the overall poverty rate saw no improvement, according to […]

Maine’s Working Families Deserve to Earn a Living Wage

The new report by the Alliance for a Just Society, “Families Out of Balance: How a living wage helps families move from debt to stability,” provides sobering […]

Testimony at Hearing on LD 1819: Resolve, To Create the Task Force To End Student Hunger in Maine

MECEP has working on issues related to student hunger going back to 2010 when we researched and published “Child Hunger Doesn’t End with the School Year.” In […]

Community Eligibility Program can help hungry kids

This week we celebrate National School Breakfast Week.  The breakfast program began as a pilot program in 1966. Now, in the wake of the Great Recession, 11.6 […]

State Policies Are Failing Maine's Working Moms

In 2012, women headed one of every three low-income working families in Maine, according to a new report released today by the Working Poor Families Project. These […]

Testimony at Hearings on LD 1581: An Act to Increase Access to Quality Child Care and LD 1682: An Act to Preserve Head Start and Child Care Services

Access to high quality early education and care is an economic imperative. Arthur MacEwan, an economist at the University of Massachusetts, summarizes the economic case in a […]