The United Way estimates that four in every ten Maine families are financially insecure. Most of those live above the federal poverty level and have jobs but are unable to afford basic expenses.
A new social service collective in Kittery, which brings together a dozen programs under one roof, has been helping a growing number of families in need for the past six months, but proposed federal cuts have advocates sounding the alarm.
At the Footprints food pantry, clients can take as much food as they like. Since it opened in January Footprints has helped more than 250 new households put dinner on the table.
"And what we're seeing is more families coming from further away," said Director Megan Shapiro-Ross. "Part of that is because of our ability to provide huge amounts of food."
Shapiro-Ross said Footprints has been able to sustain its operations at a time when other food pantries in the region are losing their federal supports.
80% of her pantry's income stream comes from donations, she said, and while cash gifts are slowing due to concerns about the economy, in-kind donations from school groups, churches, Rotary clubs and residents are still filling shelves at the market.
"I feel like the power of all of us together is really what's moving the needle. I think with the current culture and climate right now, the power of community is what's going to allow us all to survive," Shapiro-Ross said.
But the U.S. Senate is considering deep cuts to Medicaid, about $600 billion, and more than $200 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which advocates say will drive more families to seek local food assistance.
Footprints is just one of the social service programs housed at Mainspring, a resource hub that offers one-stop shopping for help not just with food, but also with clothing and even housing. And some are already feeling the pinch of declining government support.
Emily Flinkman is Executive Director of Fair Tide, a nonprofit focused on building affordable housing.
"Impacts federal cuts are having on housing development are pretty profound," she said.
Flinkman said the Supportive Housing Program is funding two apartment projects with a total of 18 units. But that money has now been exhausted.
"I'm not sure that we're going to be able to have another project in the pipeline. And our intention was to have at least one project that we're opening every year or so," Flinkman said.
Since February Mainspring has helped more than 200 people connect with a dozen programs and services offered here, according to Flinkman. People like 53-year-old Drew Kehoe, who has been in recovery for substance use disorder off and on for 40 years, a path that landed him in jail several times.
Kehoe said within a month of coming to Mainspring this spring he was in school learning how to be a recovery support specialist. He recently started working at a residential rehabilitation facility in Dover, NH.
"There's a lot of hope and help coming out of here," Kehoe said. "I just want to be a part of it, in any way possible."
Kehoe said he and his wife are on MaineCare, the state's Medicaid Program, and are now applying for SNAP. Kehoe said he hopes the new job will get his family through any looming federal program cuts.
Shapiro-Ross said she's glad Mainspring opened when it did because it is sustaining so many families in the area. The goal, she said, is to stay the course no matter what may lie ahead.
"I'm not sure we can pivot. We just have to stay rooted in optimism and hope and keep doing what we do," Shapiro-Ross said. "Maintain our philosophy of abundance and offer security to individuals who are accessing our services, so they are not feeling any more stress than they are already feeling from the federal cuts."
Some fear the situation could become dire this winter. The Trump Administration wants to eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which 30,000 Mainers rely on to help heat their homes during the coldest months of the year.
Read the United Way of Southern Maine ALICE report here.