About Us
The simple act of ensuring every student in a single classroom had nourishing food at snack time has grown to serve thousands of children and families across Greater Portland.
From an idea to a community-wide network of support
What started more than a decade ago as a grassroots effort by a caring parent at East End Community School has grown into one of the largest child food security nonprofits in Maine. We are deeply saddened by the persistent need for greater access to nutritious food, and we are humbled and inspired by our network of supporters, volunteers, and partners who help us reach scores of children and families each day.
We believe that every child deserves access to the nourishing food they need to grow, learn, and thrive. And together, we make sharing and enjoying food a positive, welcoming, and whole-community experience!
With fresh food rescued from nearby grocers and farms, produce donated by the food bank and local farms, and staples purchased at a discount, we’re able to source, pack up, and share more than 600,000 pounds of nourishing food each year.
There are so many ways to get involved and be a part of this important work — join us!
For an overview of where we’ve been, see Our Story. For a look at we’re headed, check out our Three-Year Strategic Plan.
Our Mission
The Locker Project connects food-insecure children in Maine with nourishing food to improve their learning capacity, health and future. We take a whole-family approach to child hunger with programs that strive to be low-barrier, stigma-free and environmentally responsible.
Our Vision
Our community meets all children’s basic need for nourishing food to fuel growth and learning.
Our Values
Inclusivity
To provide everyone in the community with equal access to our food assistance programs, we operate low-barrier programs, bring in a variety of voices and viewpoints, make special efforts to engage New Mainers with culturally preferred foods, and solicit regular feedback.
Community-Building
To enhance the well-being of community members through healthy food, we support and connect other agencies, avoid replacing and instead build community capacity, use purchasing power to support local farms, and take action against climate change by rescuing edible food from the waste stream.
Excellence
To provide high-quality food and programming, we set goals that are achievable and measurable, identify and implement best practices, and commit to consistency and reliability in all aspects of our organization.
Respect for Dignity & Privacy
To create a welcoming environment for students and community members, we respect differences, are sensitive to varying needs for privacy, and offer a choice of foods whenever possible.
Integrity
As a values-based organization, we commit to equitable food distribution and responsible stewardship of financial resources.
our story
2024
We reached two important milestones: 10 years as an official nonprofit and 3 million pounds of nourishing food shared with children and families! By the end of the year, we had rescued more than 240,000 pounds of fresh food and shared about 608,000 of fresh food and staples!
2023
We received Fedcap’s Community Partner of the Year and were awarded the $25K for Kids grant from Androscoggin Bank’s Main Street Foundation. By year’s end, we had shared 558,000 pounds of healthy food with more than 2,500 local families.
2022
We moved into a new space in South Portland, with ample cold storage as well as a welcoming volunteer space. Total healthy food shared topped 480,000 pounds, with more than 30,000 green and purple bags shared.
2021
With COVID still limiting access to school pantries, we continued with our green and purple bag program. By year-end, bags packed and shared totaled more than 27,000, with total pounds shared about 450,000.
2020
When the year began, children at 34 program sites had access to healthy food to take home. In March, the pandemic closed the schools and our pantries. Over the next eight months, we shared 15,400 green produce bags and 3,500 purple staples bags. Total food shared with families reached 425,000 pounds.
2019
We partnered with the Opportunity Alliance to serve more than 100 Head Start families. Children at a total of 34 program sites could take nutritious food home. Founding Executive Director Katie Brown launched Youth Full Maine to share healthy food with children and families in York County.
2018
We were operating pantries in 21 schools and shared more than 188,000 pounds of healthy food with local families.
2017
We began sharing thousands of pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and bread that would otherwise go to waste. Total food shared topped 100,000 pounds.
2016
We stocked pantries in 17 schools.
2015
The Locker Project opened nine new school pantries.
2014
Katie Brown joined forces with Katie Wallace and, together with a founding board of community members, they formed the Locker Project.
2013
Good Shepherd Food Bank provided funding to help Katie set up a food pantry in the nurse’s office.
2011
Katie Wallace, a parent at East End Community School (EECS), began delivering extra food to her daughter’s kindergarten classroom so that every child had something healthy to eat at snack time.
