Serving all Mainers since 1981
From humble beginnings to helping end hunger statewide.
About Us
Good Shepherd Food Bank was established in 1981 as a non-profit organization working to eliminate hunger in the state of Maine.
Through food donation programs, hard-working volunteer efforts, community outreach, and 600+ organizations located throughout the state, we have become a vital resource for those facing food insecurity.
Who We Are
Our Mission
We work to eliminate hunger in Maine by improving access to nutritious and culturally relevant food for people in need, building strong community partnerships, and mobilizing the public in the fight to end hunger.
Our core values
- Partnership: We endeavor to provide the best possible experience to everyone we engage with, basing interactions on a foundation of equity, integrity, and humility.
- Agility: We promote an organizational culture that encourages new ideas, improvements, flexibility, and innovations and turns challenges into opportunities.
- Inclusion: We respect the breadth of life experiences across the communities we partner with, holding people struggling with hunger at the center of our decisions and actions.
We make an impact
Explore our behind-the-scenes efforts to eliminate hunger in Maine.
Sourcing Initiatives
We work with The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) to source, prepare, and distribute commodity foods. The Food Bank distributes between 6,000 – 9,000 CSFP food boxes each month to partner agencies across the state.
Green Initiatives
Climate change affects global food security – including every aspect of the agricultural industries and food supply. We are doing our part in mitigating the detrimental effects of climate change. Our Green Initiatives program substitutes our typical energy systems with efficient green technology systems.
Research & Evaluation
Our Research & Evaluation efforts allow us to better prepare and respond to the hunger crisis in our state. The more we know about people experiencing hunger in our network, the more effectively we can measure our impact, allocate resources, and successfully advocate on their behalf.
Our Senior Team
Meet the executives and board members of Good Shepherd Food Bank.
Heather Paquette
President
Shannon Coffin
Vice President of Community Partnerships
- scoffin@gsfb.org
- She/Her
Shannon Coffin, vice president of community partnerships, joined Good Shepherd Food Bank in 2010 and launched the first Youth & Families Initiatives partnerships in 2011. Under her leadership from 2011 to 2019, Youth & Families Initiatives grew from reaching 40 children in one school to over 5,000 families in over 150 schools. From November 2019 to August 2020, Shannon served as Good Shepherd Food Bank’s Director of Community Partnerships, helping to lead the transition of our Community Resources team. She grew the team from four Field Representatives focused on agency compliance to seven Community Resource Representatives, building agency capacity and managing relationships with local retail donors through increased partner engagement.
Shannon is a part of Full Plates Full Potentials Leadership Council and has served as Chair for both their Child & Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program committees. She is also very active in the national Feeding America network. Most recently, she was selected to be a part of Feeding America’s first Equitable Access Innovation Cohort. In the past, she has provided support to peers across the country as a Child Hunger Capacity Adviser and as a Child Hunger Corps Supervisor.
Prior to working at Good Shepherd Food Bank, Shannon was Marketing & Events Coordinator for Green Tree Event Consultants in Falmouth, Maine, from 2006 to 2010. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Joseph’s College of Maine in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in Public Relations and Advertising. Outside of work, Shannon is the mother of endlessly energetic twins, and loves to garden and kayak.
Erin Fogg
Vice President of Development and Communications
- efogg@gsfb.org
- She/Her
Erin Fogg, vice president of development and communications, helps lead the Food Bank’s efforts to mobilize the public in the fight to end hunger. In her position since 2016, Erin oversees a team of fundraising and communications professionals responsible for engaging the public and donors in our work and the issue of hunger. The team is responsible for raising the philanthropic support that fuels our work and supporting all organizational initiatives through marketing and public relations. Erin recently led the Food Bank through two successful campaigns aimed at increasing the organization’s capacity to drastically grow meal distribution, including a $5 million capital campaign for a second distribution center in Hampden and a $250 million multi-year comprehensive campaign that included both donated food and funds.
Erin has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining the Food Bank, Erin worked in fundraising and communications at The Jackson Laboratory, Friends of Acadia, and the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Erin received a B.A. in Communications from Elizabethtown College and completed her M.B.A. at Husson University. A native Vermonter, Erin and her family have made Maine their home since 2007.
George Fox
Vice President of Supply Chain
George Fox joined Good Shepherd Food Bank as Vice President of Supply Chain in 2020. He is responsible for helping the Food Bank grow its capacity to feed food-insecure Mainers.
Prior to joining Good Shepherd, Fox held engineering and operational leadership roles at L.L.Bean for over 20 years and received a B.S. from the University of Maine in Forestry, an MBA from New Hampshire College, and MS from the University of Southern Maine in Manufacturing Systems. He lives with his wife and teenage son in Gorham.
Nicole Nadeau
Vice President of People and Culture
- nnadeau@gsfb.org
- She/Her
Nicole Nadeau, vice president of people and culture, joined Good Shepherd Food Bank in February 2010. Nadeau nurtures a high-engagement culture throughout the Food Bank’s statewide workforce that supports talent development, fosters employee wellbeing, and positions the organization to meet its short- and long-term goals. Her work is grounded in building meaningful relationships and delivering a great employee and volunteer experience. She is fascinated by learning about the energy and joy within everyone. General Mills previously employed Nadeau in Scottsdale, Arizona. While at General Mills, she was approached by St. Mary’s Food Bank to host a volunteer group and donate cereal to the food bank. On her first experience with any food bank, she was captivated by the work the Food Bank was doing and fell in love with the spirit and essence of community support and helping others. Five years later, Nadeau moved to Maine and was excited to see an opportunity as a gift processor at Good Shepherd Food Bank. After a year in the gift processing role, she moved into the Human Resources department. Nadeau is a volunteer working with incarcerated women in recovery as they prepare to return to their community. She offers mentorship and group support sessions at the women’s facility in Windham, Maine. She is an avid reader, explorer, and learner. She raises her three children to lead with kindness, compassion, and awareness.
Bryan O’Connor
Vice President of Finance and Administration
- boconnor@gsfb.org
- He/Him
Bryan O’Connor is Vice President of Finance and Administration at Good Shepherd Food Bank, overseeing the accounting, technology, and risk management functions.
A Certified Management Accountant, Bryan has over 20 years of experience in accounting and leadership roles. Before joining the Food Bank in 2015, he served as Vice President of Finance at United Way of Greater Portland.
A graduate of Bentley University, Bryan is a father of two, a self-published author, and a Little League baseball coach.
Amy Regan-Gallant
Vice President of Public Policy
- agallant@gsfb.org
- She/Her
Amy Regan Gallant, vice president of public policy and research, joined the Food Bank in December 2019. Her work includes state and federal advocacy, working with partner agencies to utilize research tools to assess the impact of our work, and engaging our Board, donors, volunteers, community, and those who have lived experience of hunger in grassroots advocacy. Gallant’s work is grounded in building relationships with elected officials and staff on all sides of the political aisle. You can find her in Augusta, DC and on the road throughout Maine.
Gallant was previously employed by AARP Maine as the advocacy director and built the successful Tuesdays at the State House constituent engagement program. She began her career at Preble Street, a social services organization in Portland, Maine, and oversaw the Maine Hunger Initiative, Healthcare Outreach to Veterans, and Homeless Voices for Justice.
Gallant is a volunteer with The Prouty, the Eastern Trail Alliance, and is a board member of Portland Ovations. She cares deeply about the “New Mainer” community and organized the 2019 Welcome Picnic for 300+ asylum seekers. Gallant grew up in Buxton and is a proud graduate of Catherine McAuley High School. She graduated from Saint Anselm College with a BA in Politics, New York University with an MS in International Development, and lives in South Portland with her husband, daughters, chickens, and bicycles.
Meg Taft
Vice President of Equity and Impact
- mtaft@gsfb.org
- She/Her
Meg Taft joined Good Shepherd Food Bank in 2018 as the advocacy and community organizing manager. In this role, she responded to the strategic priority of centering the voices of those most impacted by hunger in the Food Bank’s work and decision-making. In 2019, alongside many community partners, Meg supported the Building Advocates Leadership Program (BALP) launch, a program designed to center and uplift the voices of food-insecure Mainers in a statewide movement to end hunger. In 2021, the evolving work and priorities of the Food Bank culminated in a deepening commitment to understanding the racial and economic disparities underlying hunger. Meg accepted the director of equity, diversity, and inclusion position, now the vice president of equity and impact. She has a deep background and professional experience leading equity and diversity work. In this role, Meg works closely with the Equity and Impact Team and her colleagues across the Food Bank to envision a more just and equitable food system in Maine. Outside of her work with Good Shepherd Food Bank, Meg co-founded Twin Villages Foodbank Farm alongside her partner, Sara, and their daughter, Adley. Meg previously owned and operated Seed by Seed Farm and supported the start-up of an immigrant growers’ cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin. She has an M.Ed in Diversity and Social Justice from the University of Massachusetts, focusing on food access and security.
JoAnn Pike Building – Auburn
Built for us in July 2001, our Flagship facility has 53,000 square feet of usable space, with a height of 34 feet to accommodate large quantities of food.
Hannaford Center – Hampden
Our modern, state-of-the-art food distribution and community center. Completed in 2019, this space allows for great cold storage for produce distribution.
Yarmouth – Admin Office
Our Administrative Office in Yarmouth handles our community outreach efforts, Cooking Matters Maine, and more!
Annual Reports, Strategic Plans, & Financials
CLICK HERE TO BEGIN VIRTUAL TOUR!