Program Background
The mission of the program is to provide a free sit-down community meal and to provide a safe and friendly environment where guests can come for a nutritious restaurant quality meal and engage in socialization to help reduce isolation. Dinners are offered twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:30 pm at the church parish hall at 271 Main Street in Saco. While donations are always welcome, no fee is charged for the dinner.
Providing meals to the community began in 1990; initially as a joint project of the Biddeford-Saco Council of Churches. When the Council disbanded in 2002, the Saco Meals Program was born and continues to operate today with the support of a volunteer-only group of local community members. The program operates from the Most Holy Trinity Church Hall in Good Shepherd Parish. The parish generously provides the hall and kitchen for the meals.
Our guests include individuals, families, children, seniors, and the unhoused. All are welcome who walk through the door. There is no registration or special requirements to participate as a guest.
We typically feed between 75 and 85 guests at each meal. While a majority of our clients are residents of Saco, we serve clients from Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach and all are welcome.
Some Program Features
At the conclusion of the meal, all guests are invited to visit “The Giving Table” which consists of fruit, vegetables, meats, dairy, and bakery goods that are donated by Shaw’s of Saco and during the summer months we receive fresh produce donations from Spiller Farm and Leary Farm. The Giving Table also includes canned goods (vegetables, fruits, & soups) and dried goods (cereals, beans, snacks, & nuts). All these products are received as part of the Good Shepherd Food Bank/Feeding America Program. Each guest has an opportunity to select items to take home and use to provide additional meals during the week.
Volunteers and Donations
Our program develops a monthly meal menu based on the ingredients we can obtain at a reduced cost through Good Shepherd Food Bank and the balance through purchases made utilizing the donations of our meal sponsors. A copy of the monthly menu is published and available online. We are so thankful for all the meal sponsors and donations!
All who work at the program are unpaid volunteers who share their time and talents setting up the hall each Monday and Thursday, prepping and cooking, serving the food, and cleaning up after the meal is completed. We also have volunteers that pick up the food from various locations for the giving table as well as our basic inventory staples. We currently have a wonderful volunteer team of over 65 individuals and are always looking for new volunteers to help support the program.
We maintain a close relationship with the Saco Food Pantry and Age Friendly Saco and share the same mission to help with food insecurity and social isolation in our community. The Saco Community Meals Program is listed at Maine 2-1-1 as an emergency source of food.
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