Sanford, ME – Partners Bank is donating $1,000 to the Sanford BackPack Program as part of the Employee Donation of the Month. Every month, the Bank chooses an employee to select an organization that will receive a $1,000 donation. For the month of May, Residential Underwiter Donald MacDougall selected the Sanford BackPack Program for this donation.

One out of four children in Maine lacks access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition, according to the Sanford Strong Coalition. That’s about 66,000 children in Maine who are food insecure. Qualifying families can enroll their children to receive food benefits at school at no cost. However, because school is only during the weekdays, some children might not be getting enough food during the weekends. What can be done to guarantee that the children in our community are properly fed outside of school?

The Sanford Strong Coalition has a program that sends children home for the weekend with a backpack full of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food. This program is called the Sanford BackPack Program. This program helps them maintain a balanced diet so they can return to school on Monday ready to focus on learning.

Organized by the Sanford school staff, parents, and other community volunteers, the Sanford BackPack Program is truly a community effort and would not be possible without everyone’s cooperation.

“Food insecurity is a challenge in every community. We have all known (or been) someone who struggled with the decision to either pay the light bill or feed their family,” MacDougall said. “I like the unique approach this charity takes to provide food to kids outside of the school day.”

About Partners Bank:

Partners Bank was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Sanford, Maine, with additional Maine branch locations in Springvale, South Sanford, Limerick, Buxton, Waterboro, Wells and York, as well as New Hampshire branch locations in Portsmouth, Rye, and Kingston. Partners Bank is a mutual savings bank that operates solely for the benefit of its deposit and loan customers and is focused on giving back to the communities where it serves. Deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Partners Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Equal Housing Lender. For more information, please visit their eBranch at partners.bank, Facebook page at Facebook.com/PartnersBankOnline or call 1-888-226-5747.