BRUNSWICK, Maine — Hours after U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree contacted representatives of Shaw’s Supermarkets to express disappointment that the chain’s store in Brunswick had discontinued donations to a local food bank, Shaw’s apparently reversed its decision.
Shaw’s will continue its donations of surplus food — food nearing its “sell by” date — to the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick, Pingree announced Thursday afternoon.
Earlier Thursday, Karen Parker, director of the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program — which serves meals and provides staples to Brunswick-area people in need of food — told Maine Public Broadcasting Network that officials at the Shaw’s in Merrymeeting Plaza had informed her the company would be ending its regular donations.
Parker told MPBN that Shaw’s had donated about 100,000 pounds of food — approximately 14 percent of the food MCHPP provides — during the previous year.
Early Thursday afternoon, Pingree wrote to Jim Rice, president of Shaw’s and Star Markets, to express her disappointment that the company had discontinued the donations due to corporate policy.
“The loss of these contributions has had an ongoing harmful impact on food access throughout Maine, most recently with the loss of donations to the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program,” Pingree wrote. “I am writing to ask you to explain the corporate policy that has reportedly led to the decision to stop donations, and the reasoning behind it. I would also like to know if this decision is likely to lead to more food ending up in landfills.”
In 2013, Shaw’s corporate office announced it would stop donating food to all of Maine’s food banks and has gradually phased out the donations, according to MPBN.
Pingree this week introduced legislation known as the Food Recovery Act that is focused on “reducing wasted food and promoting food recovery in America.” She spoke Monday of the proposed legislation in Portland, joined by representatives of other organizations and food retailers who have committed to sending excess food to those organizations, according to a release from Pingree’s office.
Just before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Pingree announced that Shaw’s officials had contacted her to say the company would continue to donate the surplus food to the Brunswick nonprofit organization.
“That’s great news for the program in Brunswick and I’m glad Shaw’s reconsidered,” she said in a release. “But there are a lot of other hunger programs around the state that could benefit from donated food from Shaw’s Supermarkets, and I’m looking forward to hearing from the company about why they are not reinstating donations in other locations as well.