Fishermen Feeding Mainers
Maine fishermen have been feeding communities for generations. Now they are working to feed Maine kids and those struggling with hunger.
Local fish is healthy. It tastes great. And it has a lower carbon footprint than many other proteins. Best of all, eating local fish helps Maine fishermen support their families and communities.
Though Fishermen Feeding Mainers, MCFA has purchased more than a million pounds of fish to sustain and grow small fishing businesses along the coast of Maine. This means that together, we have already donated over 1,700,000 seafood meals to growing kids and hungry families across Maine!
Your gift makes all this possible. By donating to Fishermen Feeding Mainers (FFM), you can help ensure that nutrient-rich seafood reaches the plates of hungry Mainers and preK-12 students statewide. Together, we can bridge the gap in food access and security, making a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Together, we can help feed those in need while supporting Maine's fishermen and the working waterfront.
This year, we have a unique opportunity to DOUBLE your donation.
An anonymous family foundation has made a $500,000 matching challenge to amplify our fundraising efforts in support of this program.
Gifts made by individuals, businesses, and foundations before September 2027 will be matched dollar for dollar.
Your generous contribution will help us purchase more fish, process it into nutritious meals, and give those meals to Mainers who need them most, so we can hear more quotes like these:
Jeanne Riley
RSU14
“We love giving our students the chance to try delicious, properly prepared Maine fish — and our goal is simple: to inspire Maine students to love Maine-caught seafood!”
Pictured: Shawn Perry in South Portland Public Schools
Wait, how did a fishing organization get into food security?
Great question, we would love to tell you.
The groundfish fleet in Maine (those who fish for species like cod, haddock, and flounder) has seen declining value for the past five years. When COVID-19 struck and restaurants closed, those struggles were amplified in an astounding way. The value of landed groundfish in Maine collapsed, down an astonishing 73% compared to the five-year average. Most shockingly, a large driver for the decline was the high percentage of fish not even being sold. This means that fishermen brought in fish that didn't sell, even at low prices, causing a loss on their trips. As a result, many fishermen had to stay tied to the dock, despite needing to make money to support their families.
At the same time, hunger skyrocketed. Maine is already the most food-insecure state in New England, and now close to 20% of our population needed better access to food, especially good quality protein like seafood.
In response, MCFA created the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program to provide direct financial relief to fishermen by helping them supply food banks, schools, and community groups with high-quality Maine seafood for families in need.
Now, post-COVID, we continue to support food banks while also making sure our schools can access healthy, local seafood to put fish "center of the tray" for their students. Kids need lots of protein, vitamins, and fatty acids to grow healthy brains and bodies, and seafood is a wonderful source of nutrition for growing kids.
The video below was filmed in 2020. Although we've now surpassed 1.7 million meals, 17 times our original goal of donating 100,000 meals, our fishermen's passion for feeding our community remains strong.
