MaineGeneral Health Receives Funds to Support Community Health and Hunger Initiatives

MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Peter Alfond Prevention & Healthy Living Center has been awarded a one-year, $50,000 grant from the Avangrid Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Central Maine Power’s parent company Avangrid. The grant is to support the health system’s emergency food bag program and healthy cooking and eating classes.

The funds will helps with the purchase emergency food bags from Good Shepherd Food Bank, which are distributed to patients experiencing food insecurity when they attend their medical appointments. Additionally, the funds support MaineGeneral’s mobile teaching kitchen that hosts healthy cooking and eating classes in the community.

Anne Conners, director of Community Health at MaineGeneral Health said:

We are deeply grateful to the Avangrid Foundation for their continued support of our efforts to address hunger in our community. As a community health system, we recognize that health and hunger are deeply connected. Addressing hunger is important to enhance the overall health of residents in the Kennebec Valley.

In 2025, MaineGeneral was able to distribute 1,442 food bags and offer 16 free healthy cooking and eating classes to 235 participants with grant funds. MaineGeneral looks forward to continuing this work in 2026 with Avangrid’s renewed support.