BELFAST — As part of its ongoing commitment to addressing food insecurity, MaineHealth Waldo Hospital has added a “Help Yourself” food pantry shelf inside MaineHealth Primary Care Family Medicine Brooks, located at 55 Reynolds Road. This new shelf marks the 12th shelf serving Knox and Waldo counties.

“Our team continues to see how central food access is to health and well-being across all our communities,” said Jemma Penberthy, director of Community Health at MaineHealth Pen Bay and Waldo Hospitals, in a news release. “Each shelf is a way to care for our neighbors and make healthy food easier to access for everyone.”

The hospitals’ Community Health team stocks the shelves with nutritious items such as canned vegetables and canned fruit, dry rice and beans, shelf-stable milk, peanut butter, and when available, protein options like canned tuna. The shelves also include fresh produce when possible.

"Open to patients, families and community members, the shelves offer easy, stigma- ree access to nutritious food for anyone who needs it," said MaineHealth.

In 2025, the program distributed more than 62,000 pounds of food across Knox and Waldo counties, reflecting the growing need for food support, according to the release. Shelf-stable food for the Waldo County shelves is supplied by The Belfast Soup Kitchen and Kindness Market and the Knox County shelves are supplied by AIO Food & Energy Assistance. Support for the emergency department shelves is made possible through a generous philanthropic donation.

“We know that accessing healthy food can be a challenge for many individuals and families,” said Abigail Lacasse, program manager in the hospitals’ Community Health department. “By placing these shelves in multiple practices and locations, we help remove barriers and make nutritious food available, ready-to-take at the moments people need it most.”

To learn more about Community Health programs at MaineHealth Pen Bay and waldo Hospitals, visit Community Health | MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital and Community Health | MaineHealth Waldo Hospital.

Additional Waldo County shelf locations include:

 The first floor of 125 Northport Avenue in Belfast, just outside MaineHealth Access To Care Belfast and MaineHealth Dental Care Clinic Belfast

 MaineHealth Primary & Walk-in Care at 119 Northport Avenue in Belfast

 MaineHealth Waldo Hospital Cancer Care on the ground floor of the MaineHealth Ludwig Health Center at 116 Northport Avenue in Belfast

 MaineHealth Waldo Hospital Emergency Department at 118 Northport Avenue in Belfast

 MaineHealth Primary Care Family Medicine Lincolnville at 2399 Atlantic Highway in Lincolnville

 MaineHealth Primary Care Family Medicine Liberty at 43 West Main Street in Liberty

Knox County shelf locations include:

 MaineHealth Behavioral Health Rockland at 12 Union Street in Rockland

 The first and second floors of the MaineHealth Charlotte & Christopher Beebe Health Center at 15 Anchor Drive in Rockport

 MaineHealth Pen Bay Emergency Department at 6 Glen Cove Drive in Rockport

 The first floor of the MaineHealth Physicians Building at 4 Glen Cove Drive in Rockport

 MaineHealth Rockland Health Center, inside the Rockland Plaza at 75 Maverick Street in Rockland

MaineHealth is a not-for-profit, integrated health system whose vision is, “Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” and is committed to a mission of providing high-quality affordable care, educating tomorrow's caregivers and researching better ways to provide care. MaineHealth includes a Level 1 trauma medical center, eight additional licensed hospitals, comprehensive pediatric care services, an extensive behavioral health care network, diagnostic services as well as home health, hospice and senior care services. With more than 2,000 employed providers and approximately 23,000 care team members, MaineHealth provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. MaineHealth hospitals include MaineHealth Behavioral Health at Spring Harbor in Westbrook, MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington, MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta, MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, Biddeford and Sanford, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport, MaineHealth Stephens Hospital in Norway and MaineHealth Waldo Hospital in Belfast. MaineHealth also includes the MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, MaineHealth Behavioral Health in Westbrook, MaineHealth Home Health and Hospice in Saco, the MaineHealth Institute for Research in Scarborough, the MaineHealth Medical Group and MaineHealth NorDx in Scarborough. MaineHealth affiliates include MaineGeneral Health in Augusta and Waterville. It is also a significant stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland and a joint venture partner in the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland.