BELFAST — The Game Loft will receive a $500 Summer Meals Program Grant to support their 2020 summer program.

The grant comes from Full Plates Full Potential, a statewide child hunger organization. Full Plates’ 16 County Summer Grant Competition was launched to highlight the critical work summer food programs do reaching the over 80,000 children who rely on school meals for basic nutrition, according to Full Plates, in a news release.

“We are so proud of the The Game Loft summer meals program,” said Anna Korsen, Full Plates Full Potential’s Program Director, in a news release. “This summer they served 1,688 meals which is an increase of 31% over 2018. Summer is an extremely challenging time for children affected by hunger. Our 16 County Grant Program aims to showcase and reward the best of summer programs across our state.

“Summer is an important time to reach kids facing rural isolation and pressing local food insecurity, as schools are no longer in session to help relieve stressors and meet needs,” said the release. “We attribute our success in feeding hundreds of hungry youth first and foremost to our robust and innovative summer programming that keeps kids coming to our door day in and day out. We recognize programs that work and that kids love. Programs like ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ and ‘I Love Food’ have now been running for multiple years, and our ‘Live Action Combat’ program reigns as the supreme draw for kids of all ages. We also work each year to push the envelope and offer something new and different. In 2019, the ‘Sea/ME: Summer of Science’ program provided hands-on marine science experiences for our younger kids ages 6-10 years-old while offering additional fun ‘pirate activities’ to keep the youngest kids engaged.”

“All of the greatest programming and press in the world isn’t enough to bring in those who need our services most,” said Ray Estabrook of The Game Loft. “That’s why our van runs 4 days a week during the summer, to and from the Game Loft in Belfast, meeting kids right at their doorstep and delivering them to the Loft for healthy food, mentorship, and, yes, games. Our transportation service is vital to reducing barriers for rural and low-income kids and ensuring access to quality programming for youth county-wide,” 

Maine 2019 Summer Stats:
Maine has 122 Summer Food Service Programs with 467 meal sites across the state. This summer, 727,612 meals were served statewide.

About Full Plates Full Potential
Full Plates Full Potential is on a mission to end child hunger in Maine by partnering with nonprofit advocates, local businesses and restaurants, advocating for policy changes at the state level, granting funds and providing technical assistance to schools and hosting year-around events and fundraisers. Learn more at www.fullplates.org.