UNE Doubles Meal Kits at Second Meals for Maine Event

Sofia Circosta’s experience growing up in a low-income region of Connecticut gave her a keen understanding of the importance of helping neighbors in need. So, Circosta ’27 wanted to do just that in her first semester at the University of New England, where she came to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy.  

Circosta got her chance at the second-annual Meals for Maine event held on Sept. 18 on the UNE Portland Campus for the 健康 科学s. 150多名学生, 教师, 专业人员, 和社区志愿者聚集在Arthur P. Girard Innovation Hall for the second year to help meet 缅因州的目标是到2030年结束该州的饥饿. 

“Growing up in a low-income area, my family applied for free heat. Now this is an opportunity to give back,” Circosta said. “这里的气氛太棒了. 我明年肯定会这么做.” 

去年，来自大学社区的志愿者 assembled over 52,000 meal kits on the Portland campus 帮助面临饥饿的缅因州人. 今年, 拥抱“ONE ONE”的口号, UNE community worked on both the Portland and Biddeford campuses to double the amount of packaged food kits — packaging a staggering 103,捐赠给弱势群体的5000顿饭, 比如新的难民家庭, 孩子们, 老年人. 

The University packaged rice-豆子。-and-vegetable meals with funding from the 9/11 National Day of Service organization, Pack Shack的“喂饱漏斗”资助计划, 美国志愿队, 和MyGoodDeed, making UNE one of just 10 colleges or universities to receive a 9/11 remembrance grant — and one of the smallest institutions to be recognized in its effort to end hunger nationwide. 

在包装方面,在一天内为有需要的人提供000个餐包, UNE put forth the same effort as school’s two or three times its size, such as The Ohio State University and Illinois State University, 特丽莎·梅森的骄傲, M.A., director of the Office of Service Learning within the UNE 威斯布鲁克卫生职业学院 以及该活动的创始人.  

When Mason addressed the crowd of volunteers on the evening of Sept. 18, she told them Meals for Maine’s momentum will continue — she has already begun securing funding for next year’s event. 

“Two years ago, I applied for a grant to package 50,000 meals here. I wasn't sure if we would get it, I wasn't sure if we could do it. And now here we are for the second year,” Mason said. “What convinced me that we could do it is our community. 

“我们虽小，但我们很强大.” 

事实上, 这个活动吸引了很多志愿者, 它容纳不了所有想帮忙的人, 正规澳门赌场网络校长詹姆斯·赫伯特说, Ph.D., when he addressed the crowd before starting the evening with a ceremonial strike of a giant gong. 

“One of the things I love about UNE is our commitment to civic engagement,” said Herbert. “The fact that we put together something like this and so many people show up … It goes to show the Nor'easter spirit is about trying to do our part to make the world a better place and to address critical issues that we face right here in Maine, 区域, 在全国范围内, 与国际.” 

此次活动也得到了联合国的协助 学生参与办公室, 学生事务处, 本科生学生会, 研究生及专业学生协会. Some of the community volunteers came to help were from local sponsor organizations, 比如班戈储蓄银行, SunLife/RMS Fullscope和Clark保险. The Maine Department of Corrections sent a half dozen staff from its Portland and Biddeford offices to help scoop rice, 豆子。, 还有食品箱里的脱水蔬菜. 

金。卡森, a regional correctional administrator with the Maine Department of Corrections, said many of the clients under community supervision benefited from the healthy meal kits last year. 

“They’re quick meals for those who are unhoused or for those who are struggling financially,卡森说. “A lot of our clients are parents or single parents struggling to make ends meet. 他们非常感激. This week we gave out meals from the last box from last year’s event.” 

Meals for Maine’s goal to tackle food insecurity is in line with UNE’s goal to improve the health of people, 社区, 和自然世界. 作为缅因州最大的独立大学, UNE’s educational mission is focused on planetary health, a trans-disciplinary field that incorporates the connections between human health and the natural sciences. 

But the event also was held as part of the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance taking place throughout the country to unite people in the spirit of service — which is what drew Patrick Burns (Physician Assistant, ‘26).  

After volunteering at similar events in Philadelphia during his undergraduate years at Villanova University, Burns was inspired to continue that tradition of service at UNE after seeing Meals for Maine posters on campus. He came to the event with seven friends who are also pursuing degrees at UNE in the health sciences.  

活动期间, UNE’s Girard Innovation Hall hummed like a dance club with speakers beating with songs from Beyonce, giving Meals for Maine more of a block-party feel — not a bad thing, 伯恩斯指出. 

“这很有趣. 这完全不是我所期望的。. “他们肯定把这归结为一门科学. And doing it with friends, it’s a lot more enjoyable.” 

阅读新闻报道 Wgme CBS 13 (9月. 18, 2024), 正规澳门赌场网络缅因州 (9月. 19, 2024), 波特兰先驱报 (9月. 20, 2024), 207 (9月. 25, 2024)，以及 的快递 (9月. 23, 2024).