Saco Meals Program returns and provides food, fellowship

Volunteers cooked dinner for the Saco Meals Program grand reopening on Monday night. Courtesy of Saco Meals Program

After a short hiatus due to construction at the Most Holy Trinity Church hall this spring, the Saco Meals Program reopened this week to a full house.

“It was amazing,” President Carmen Gawronski said Tuesday.

Since its conception in 1989, the Saco Meals Program has been providing free meals to community members twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

The program is entirely run through volunteer efforts, and is funded through grants and donations that come from individuals and local businesses.

“It’s kind of a cool model that we have,” Gawronski said. “We use local community sponsors that will sponsor one meal a month.”

This week, the Monday night meal was sponsored by Saco Valley Credit Union, but other sponsors include WEX, TruChoice Federal Credit Union and Bangor Savings Bank.

The Saco Meals Program averages about 120 meals per week, Gawronski said, a number that has increased as the cost of groceries rises.

“We’ve had some of our highest numbers,” Gawronski said.

Guests enjoyed the grand reopening of the Saco Meals Program this week. Courtesy of Saco Meals Program

While the program’s main focus is providing meals to those in need, the most valuable part of it is the sense of community weekly dinners provide.

“This program is not only about providing healthy meals, it’s about a sense of community and the feeling that you are not alone no matter what your circumstances (are),” Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail said. “We are so thankful for the work they do.”

Gawronski herself knows firsthand the importance of the social aspect.

When Gawronski was living out of state several years ago, her elderly mother would often tell her about weekly community dinners that she and her friend would attend.

“It was all about fellowship and socialization,” Gawronski said.

Those dinners were hosted by the Saco Meals Program, and Gawronski said she still sees socialization as one of the most important parts of the dinners.

“I know how important it is,” she said. “We realize that the socialization part is sometimes just as important as the food.”

For those experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, the dinners are a chance to not only receive a meal, but to take donated produce and groceries to help supplement their pantries.

But some people, Gawronski said, simply come to the dinners so they’re not eating alone.

“I think we make an impact on all the folks who walk through our doors,” Gawronski said. “It’s amazing what we can do as a community.”

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