About the Committee

The Ending Hunger in Maine initiative is guided by an Advisory Committee, established by the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), as directed by LD 174 An Act to Implement Maine’s Roadmap to End Hunger by 2030.  

The role of the Ending Hunger in Maine Advisory Committee is to: 

• Share updates and support coordination and collaboration across public, private, and community anti-hunger efforts. 
• Provide input on the development and implementation of the State of Maine’s Ending Hunger initiatives and to the Ending Hunger Cross-Agency Staff Group. 
• Provide an update on the status of food security efforts and policy and program recommendations to the State Legislature each year in January. This update will be included in the annual GOPIF staff report to the State Legislature. There will also be opportunities to provide updates to Maine’s Congressional delegation.   
• Support efforts to engage and empower a broader group of partners and supporters through the Ending Hunger in Maine Network, hosted by Full Plates Full Potential. 

Membership

• Emergency food assistance provider - Statewide; Shannon Coffin, Good Shephard Food Bank 
• Emergency food assistance provider - Urban; Donna Yellen, Preble Street 
• Emergency food assistance provider - Rural;  Maureen Bean, Burlington Food Pantry, Penobscot County 
• A nonprofit legal aid provider advocating on behalf of low-income community members; Alex Carter, Maine Equal Justice 
• Organization/entity representing racial, indigenous, and/or tribal populations; Rae Sage, The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations 
• Organization representing or providing services to immigrant populations in Maine; Mufalo Chitam, Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition 
• Organization advocating on behalf of and/or providing services to older adults; Jess Maurer, Maine Council on Aging 
• Organization advocating on behalf of and/or providing services to people with disabilities; Katrina Ringrose, Disability Rights Maine 
• Regional community-based organizations which provide support and services to low-income community members - Rural; Charley Martin-Berry, Community Caring Collaborative, Washington County  
• Regional community-based organizations which provide support and services to low-income community members - Urban; Dan Coyne, United Way of Southern Maine 
• Organization that advocates for and has expertise in key federal nutrition programs; Anna Korsen, Full Plates Full Potential 
• Healthcare system/Food is Medicine representative; Emily Kain, MaineHealth 
• Affordable housing organization or agency;  Peace Mutesi, Quality Housing Coalition 
• Maine Community College System; Ellen Culberson, Southern Maine Community College, Advocacy Resource Center (ARC)  
• Local food access program for low-income community members and promoting local agriculture; James DeBiasi, Maine Federation of Farmers Markets 
• Food policy representative; Bill Pluecker, Maine Organic Farmers & Gardener’s Association (MOFGA), Public Policy 
• Local farmer involved in hunger-relief; Penny Jordan, Farms for Food Equity 
• Community members with lived experience of food insecurity and poverty (to represent one-third of overall committee membership) 
  • Sass Borodkin, Resource for Organizing and Social Change & Community of Maine Food Advocates 
  • Karlee Foss 
  • Clarice Lima 
  • Maine Equal Justice nominee 
  • Maine Equal Justice nominee 
  • Denislene Mateus, Quality Housing Coalition nominee 
  • Allison Edwards, Quality Housing Coalition nominee 
  • Alice Bayili, Quality Housing Coalition nominee 
  • Kamiwan Oliver, Family Futures Downeast/Community Caring Collaborative Nominee 

Committee members represent the following roles outlined in the Ending Hunger Advisory Committee Ground Rules (PDF).

Meetings

The Ending Hunger Advisory Committee meets quarterly. All Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public and will be noticed on the project website. Committee members appointed by the DACF Commissioner are the sole voting members of the Ending Hunger Advisory Committee. If you are interested in observing a committee meeting, please reach out to Sydney Brown at sydney.c.brown@maine.gov.  

Cross-Agency Staff Group for Ending Hunger in Maine

The Cross-Agency Staff Group brings together staff from the three State of Maine agencies which administer our key federal nutrition programs to increase coordination, maximize funding opportunities, and improve access. Convened by the Senior Anti-Hunger Policy Advisor at GOPIF, this group meets regularly to ensure coordination and collaboration on key anti-hunger initiatives and provides timely updates to the Ending Hunger Advisory Committee.