ROCKLAND — As part of MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital’s continued effort to help those experiencing food insecurity, the hospital has added a new Help Yourself Shelf inside MaineHealth Behavioral Health Rockland, located at 12 Union Street in Rockland.

This new shelf gives MHPBH four shelves in Knox County, with the other pantry shelves located on the first and second floors of the Beebe Health Center, located on the MHPBH campus at 15 Anchor Drive in Rockport, and at the Rockland Health Center, located inside the Rockland Plaza at 75 Maverick Street.

The hospital’s Community Health team stocks the pantry shelves with nutritious shelf-stable foods and fresh produce. The shelves are conspicuously placed and everyone is welcome to take items from them.

“We are thrilled to keep expanding the Help Yourself Shelf program across Knox County,” said Deidre Dority, program manager for the MaineHealth Center for Health Improvement, Community Health department at Pen Bay and Waldo Hospitals. “This new shelf, conveniently located near downtown Rockland, allows more people access to nutrient dense food that may not have the resources to travel to our other shelf locations.”

There are also five “Help Yourself Shelf” locations in Waldo County. They can be found on the first floor of 125 Northport Ave. in Belfast, just outside the offices for CarePartners and MaineHealth Dental Care Clinic Belfast; at MaineHealth Primary & Walk-in Care at 119 Northport Ave. in Belfast; within the MaineHealth Waldo Hospital Cancer Care practice, on the ground floor of the Ludwig Medical Building, 116 Northport Ave., in Belfast; at MaineHealth Primary Care Family Medicine Lincolnville, located at 2399 Atlantic Highway in Lincolnville; and at MaineHealth Primary Care Family Medicine Liberty, located at 43 W Main St. in Liberty.

Shelf stable food for the Knox County shelves is supplied by AIO Food & Energy Assistance, while the food for the Waldo County shelves is supplied by The Belfast Soup Kitchen and Kindness Market. Last year, nearly 35,000 pounds of food were distributed through the shelves across the two counties.

“Building connections with other organizations engaged in this work makes our community stronger,” said Jemma Penberthy, director of Community Health Improvement at MaineHealth Pen Bay and Waldo Hospitals. “It’s a great example of how collaboration helps us create a healthier community for everyone.”

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 Maine General Health in Augusta and Waterville and St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston. 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.