Community supporting community
About AIO
AIO’s mission is to respectfully & compassionately support those in need in Knox County with food and energy assistance.
Our Vision
Our vision is to have a hunger-free community, but until that time AIO is committed to ensuring that no one in our community goes hungry, or is cold in their home.
Our Programs
AIO is working to address food and energy insecurity in Knox County. Working hand in hand with our partner organizations, we strive to provide the services that are vital to a family’s health and well-being.
AIO’s two core programs—Food Assistance and Energy Assistance—ensure that Knox County residents who are food or energy insecure receive the support they need. AIO’s Food Assistance programs include the Food Pantry and the Weekend Meal Program (formerly known as Backpack), which ensure access to food for children and families when they need it.
Our Energy Assistance program provides heating assistance during the winter months, in partnership with local fuel providers. In addition we help prevent electricity disconnections in partnership with CMP.
AIO also partners with other community service organizations to help our clients connect with additional resources they need.
Our History
Area Interfaith Outreach (AIO) was established in 1990 in Rockland, Maine, by area congregations, as one convenient place where people in need can go for nourishing food or energy assistance within Knox County. The founders recognized that there were many people in the community who needed help. AIO is continuing a long tradition of outreach to those in need with its dedication to supporting the community.
AIO is known first and foremost as a food pantry and as such, AIO now serves more than 4,000 households a year, with more than 10,000 individual visits to the food pantry. AIO works with families that are experiencing financial stress, which may threaten discontinuance of their utilities or leave them without fuel for the furnace.
At the request of Good Shepherd Food Bank, AIO launched the Weekend Backpack Program in 2015, to provide nutritious food to children and families on weekends when the school meals aren’t available. On average 340 children and their families participate in the program. Teachers and school nurses testify to the effect that food insecurity has on children’s health, their ability to focus, to sit still or stay awake in class, and to learn, as well as the emotional toll it takes. AIO is here to assist these families.
According to the Maine Department of Education, more than 50% of the children in RSU 13 (Rockland area) live near the poverty line. In RSU 40 (Medomak Valley), it’s 47%. One child in four qualifies for free school lunches, based on family incomes at or just above the poverty line. The problem is significant and growing. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine’s food insecurity rate is now 20 percent higher than it was 10 years ago.
Our Work Today
AIO remains committed to the programs we run and ensure that anyone who needs help receives it. Although the effects of COVID are not fully known, it is predicted that food insecurity in Maine will rise from 13% to 18%, with the need of AIO’s programs continuing to grow as well. Our new building will help meet this growing need. As an organization which addresses the basic needs of the community, we are continually working to improve and respond in ways which create the greatest impact for our clients. Working hand in hand with our community partners, we strive to provide our clients with the information and resources that support them and their current needs.
Learn more about Food Assistance and Energy Assistance.
An Organization Powered
by the Community
AIO is fortunate for the incredible support from our community, who provide time and resources which enable the organization to provide essential services to those who need it.
AIO has been a volunteer-run organization for over 30 years—in fact we celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2020! Volunteers collectively give an average of 15,000 hours each year to help run our programs. Without our volunteers we would not be able to serve the people we do. And it is the community of individuals, businesses, partners and foundations who provide the essential financial and in-kind support that enables us to distribute the food and fuel needed by so many. This is a true partnership- without the community AIO would not be to provide these critical programs.
Who We Serve
AIO does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, the appointment to and termination from its Board of Directors, hiring and firing of staff or contractors, selection of volunteers, selection of vendors, and providing of services.