“Hunger Looks Different now on the Midcoast”

Maisie Russell of Thomaston shops in AIO's food market in Rockland on April 21. Photo by John Blodgett

Maisie Russell moved to Thomaston from upstate New York late last year. Despite having a job, she was struggling with the high cost of living, and had little in savings; the math wasn’t working. So she went to AIO, the food and energy assistance nonprofit founded in Rockland in 1990. But when Russell first walked into the food market, she brought more than a backpack to fill with groceries — she brought a set of assumptions. “I used to have some stigma around going to a food pantry,” the 23-year-old said. “I thought it was only for people who have no income and are really struggling.” On that first visit, however, her discomfort was quickly eased: the staff were kind, the other shoppers were friendly, and most of them, she learned, had jobs, too.