Kiwanis and CA Dean Hospital drive to strengthen food security exceeds goal

Date: 11/30/2023

Thanks to generous support from the community and Northern Light CA Dean Hospital employees, the 12 Days of Giving Food Drive easily exceeded its goal of 150 items collected.

The Food Drive, which wrapped on Thanksgiving week, supports the Moosehead Lake Kiwanis Club’s Backpack Program to benefit children and families in need. Every package of food collected will stay in the area to help people in our region.

“The Moosehead Lake Kiwanis Club thanks the employees of CA Dean and those in our community who donated to the food drive,” says Prudy Richards, a Kiwanian and organizer of the Backpack Program. “We’re grateful for all the support prior to the holiday season when families may find it especially difficult to access nutritious food.”

Hundreds of packages of cereal, soup, macaroni and cheese, granola and fruit bars, and more were donated at the drop-off locations at CA Dean Hospital and Indian Hill Trading Post.

“Food insecurity is a problem that hits close to home; one in four kids in Piscataquis County does not have enough to eat,” says Marie Vienneau, FACHE, president, CA Dean Hospital. “The response from our employees and the community confirms what we’ve always known to be true: Greenville is a small town with a big heart.”

Pictured with some of the hundreds of items collected are, from left to right: Nancy Seddon; John Seddon; Nicole Dephillips, a Kiwanian and Northern Light Health employee; Sue Delmonico; Prudy Richards; Peggy Phillips, interim chair #1 of Kiwanis; Dee Smith; Sally Farrand, interim chair #2 of Kiwanis; Marie Vienneau, FACHE, a Kiwanian and president, CA Dean Hospital; and Lorraine Rodgerson, BSN, RN, vice president of nursing and operations, CA Dean Hospital.