Collins, King Announce $400,000 in Funding for St. Mary’s Nutrition Center

Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded $400,000 to St. Mary’s Regional Nutrition Center in Lewiston to develop local and self-reliant food systems. This funding was provided through NIFA’s Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

“It is essential that our neighbors in need have both enough to eat and that they have access to food that contributes to good health,” said Senators Collins and King. “We are delighted that St. Mary’s Nutrition Center received this funding to promote local food programs and to provide our most vulnerable citizens with nutritious meals.”

For nearly 18 years, the St. Mary's Nutrition Center has helped build a stronger, more accessible food system in greater Lewiston-Auburn by creating opportunities for people of all ages to take part in growing, cooking, and sharing healthy, local food. The organization has established a network of community gardens in low-income neighborhoods to grow fresh vegetables, created youth programs that help teens to develop leadership skills and engage with their community through food, and enabled underserved people to bring home more healthy food.