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First a big thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Common Ground Fair last weekend — it was great to hear what's on your minds, and our reporters walked away with lots of new questions to dig into.

Today, we're taking you inside a food pantry in Winterport, where Monitor contributor Elaine Appleton Grant spent the last couple months getting to know the diminutive 78-year-old food pantry director Phylis Allen, and her methods for securing good, cheap food, be it potatoes, beets or ginger.

It's a tough time for the pantry: billions in cuts to federal food assistance programs and food stamps are coming down the pike. And like much of the country's charitable food network, it relies on volunteers — many of whom are getting older. Still, the tight-knit team is approaching the work with gusto, something that comes across in Katherine Emery's wonderful photographs.

Elaine's piece is one of nine stories being published as part of a collaboration with the Rural News Network and the Associated Press, looking at how communities across the country are grappling with food insecurity in the face of government cuts. She also worked on an audio version for NPR — so be sure to listen for it.

In another collaborative piece, our public health reporter Emily Bader takes a hard look at gun suicides among older Mainers, using data collected and analyzed by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom focused on gun violence, finding that more older Mainers died by gun suicide than they did in car crashes over a 15-year period.

Earlier this week, as you may have seen, our environmental reporter Emmett Gartner broke the news of a historic dam sale that will clear the way for salmon to return to the Kennebec River. We also have a map of all of Maine’s delivery wards and nursing homes that have closed in the last decade, and a piece looking at the Trump administration's decision to pull climate change signs from Acadia National Park.

Thanks for reading. If you're in Portland, we'd love to see you at the Equality Community Center on Tuesday evening.

— Stephanie

Maine’s food pantries stare down volunteer shortage while anticipating cuts

At Neighbor’s Cupboard in Winterport, funding cuts aren’t the biggest challenge. It’s keeping volunteers, especially as they get older.

Read this story by Elaine Appleton Grant

Across the country, older men are dying at higher rates of gun suicide. Here’s what that looks like in Maine: More older Mainers died by gun suicide than they did in car crashes over a 15-year period. The numbers represent a troubling trend playing out in rural communities across the country. Read this story by Emily Bader

Historic sale of dams clears the way for salmon to return to the Kennebec River: The Nature Conservancy will buy the last four dams blocking salmon from their spawning grounds in the Sandy River. Read this story by Emmett Gartner

See where all of Maine’s delivery wards and nursing homes have closed in the last decade: Two in five birthing units have closed, and one in four nursing homes have closed since 2015, forcing people to travel greater distances for care. Read this story by Rose Lundy

Trump administration pulls climate change signs from Acadia National Park: “Acadia is changing, so are we,” read one of the signs. “The rapidly changing climate requires new approaches to restoration.” Read this story by Chris D'Angelo

At Common Ground Fair, locals describe a changing Maine

Environmental Reporter Emmett Gartner gave a talk about his climate resiliency reporting and answered questions about the state’s flood preparedness.

Read this story

Have feedback or a correction to send to Stephanie McFeeters? Send it to her directly via email: stephanie@themainemonitor.org. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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