Employee-Led Initiative Raises $10,000 to Help Maine’s Hungry Families
NORWAY, Maine — November 22, 2016 — Norway Savings Bank employees have raised $10,000 to help feed Maine families struggling with food insecurity by tapping into their passions and creativity. As part of the bank’s 150th-anniversary celebration, employees decided to create a limited-edition cookbook called Colorful Cooking Solutions filled with more than 100 easy-to-make sweet and savory family-style recipes from the kitchens of bank employees and their families. The cookbook was sold at the bank’s 24 branches for $10 each over several months. This month the bank reached its goal of raising $10,000 through the sale of cookbooks and selected five food pantries located in Brownfield, Brunswick, Lewiston, Norway, and Portland to receive $2,000 each.
“Our employees are deeply involved in their communities and they wanted to create an initiative that would help deal with the problem of hunger in our state,” said Patricia Weigel, President and CEO, Norway Savings Bank. “The idea of selling a cookbook was a heartfelt and personal way to demonstrate their commitment to the communities in which they live and work.”
On November 21, Pat Weigel, President and CEO of Norway Savings, Janice deLima, CRA Officer and branch staff for the bank traveled to each food pantry location and surprised them with the donation. The organizations selected are:
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Food Pantry (MCHPP): Located in Brunswick, Maine, the food pantry provides food items including fresh fruits, vegetables, deli choices, canned goods, breads, pastries and meat as well as personal care items to income eligible families in the Mid Coast communities MCHPP serves. Last year, the food pantry served more than 1,000 households and in Brunswick alone about 1 in 10 persons visited the pantry in 2014.
L-R Pam Bowerman, VP Commercial Lending, Norway Savings Bank; Pat Weigel, President & CEO, Norway Savings Bank; Karen Parker, Executive Director, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Food Pantry; Ethan Minton, Program Director, Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Food Pantry and Lennie Burke, VP & Market Manager, Norway Savings Bank
Oxford Hills Food Pantry: Located in Norway, Maine, the food pantry, is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and serves individuals and families living in Norway, South Paris and other local towns without their own food pantries.
L-R Pat Weigel, President & CEO, Norway Savings Bank; Beth Rice, Executive Director, Oxford Hills Food Pantry and Mike Grass, AVP & Market Manager, Norway Savings Bank
Preble Street Resource Center Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry: The Preble Street Resource Center, located in Portland, Maine, is the hub of services for hundreds of homeless people —meeting urgent needs at an on-site clothing closet, soup kitchen, and food pantry.
L-R Kaleigh Deering, VP & Market Manager, Norway Savings Bank; Mark Swann, Executive Director, Preble Street Resource Center Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry; Pat Weigel, President & CEO, Norway Savings Bank; Rob Harville, AVP & Commercial Lender, Norway Savings Bank and Elaina Schmidt, Chief Development Officer, Preble Street Resource Center Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry
Trinity Jubilee Center is located in the heart of downtown Lewiston, Maine and serves more than 1,000 people every week through its five programs: the Meals Program, Food Pantry, Day Shelter, Resource Center, and Refugee Integration Program, The Center provides hot meals, healthy groceries, and a variety of services to support families in need.
L-R Jack Day, RVP Commercial Lending, Norway Savings Bank; Pat Weigel, President & CEO, Norway Savings Bank; Erin Reed, Executive Director, Trinity Jubilee Center; Donny Hinkley, Commercial Lender, Norway Savings Bank and Lin Dehetre, AVP & Branch Manager, Norway Savings Bank
Brownfield Food Pantry is located in the Brownfield Lions Club Building and open the third Thursday of each month from 1 to 5 p.m. It serves the towns of Hiram, Porter, Brownfield, Denmark, Fryeburg, Lovell, Stoneham, Stowe, Sweden, Albany Township and Chatham, NH.
L-R Kristen Charette, VP & Branch Manager, Norway Savings Bank; Jim Mathinson, Director of Inventory Management, Brownfield Food Pantry; Roger Benson, Executive Director, Brownfield Food Pantry; Vince Osgood, Commercial Lending, Norway Savings Bank
According to The U.S. Department of Agriculture, 42 million Americans, including over 13 million children are food insecure; and Maine ranks 1st in New England and 9th in the nation for food insecurity. In Maine:
• 15.8 percent of households (more than 209,000 individuals), are food insecure (USDA)
• 24 percent of children, nearly 1 in every 4, are food insecure (64,200 children) (Feeding America)
• 23 percent of seniors experience marginal, low, or very low food security (AARP)
“Food pantries provide a vital service in our state by securing and distributing critically needed food, and they do it in a compassionate and effective way,” noted Weigel. “Together, these organizations are feeding Mainers who may not otherwise have access to healthy, nutritious food.”
The Norway Savings Bank Colorful Cooking Solutions Cookbook project began 11 months ago when employees reached out to their peers across Maine to ask for family-style recipes. The committee was then responsible for collecting and organizing the recipes and designing the cookbook.
About Norway Savings Bank
Founded in 1866, Norway Savings Bank is a leading mutual banking and financial services company headquartered in Norway, Maine. As of October 31, 2016, Norway Savings Bank had $1.095 billion in total assets and provides financial services to over 38,000 households throughout western and southern Maine. Norway Savings Bank has 24 branch locations and operates divisions in asset management, personal banking and business banking. In 2016, Norway Savings Bank was honored as one of the Best Banks to Work For by American Banker and Best Companies Group as well as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine. In 2013, Norway Savings Bank received the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence and has been recognized as one of the healthiest companies in America by the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA) as a two-time Gold-Level Well Workplace award recipient. BauerFinancial has designated 5-Star Norway Savings Bank the “Best of Bauer” for earning and maintaining its highest 5-star rating for 25 continuous years or longer. For more information, visit www.norwaysavingsbank.com.
