Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed a bill into law expanding access to the state’s Fund To Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives.
State law previously specified that only federal food and nutrition assistance programs were eligible to benefit from this fund.
According to the sponsor of LD 2004, Sen. Henry Ingwersen (D-York), this change brings the law into alignment with lawmakers’ original intentions.
Sen. Ingwersen explained that “no matter the funding sources, the original intent has always been to match SNAP/EBT dollars.”
This fund was first established three years ago by the Legislature and, as of last year, has been granted a $600,000 ongoing annual appropriation.
Programs funded by this initiative include Maine Harvest Bucks and Farm Fresh Rewards, both of which are currently supported in part by the federal government.
The Good Shepherd Food Bank told lawmakers that state law, as it was written at the time, would leave otherwise appropriated funding for these initiatives unused if the federal government were to withdraw support from these programs.
A representative of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) testified before lawmakers that LD 2004 would allow the state to continue investing in these programs “even if the nutrition benefits are not being amplified or incentivized by the federal government.”
“The federal government has been the biggest – though not the only – investor in nutrition benefits, which is why the program’s statutory language currently requires a federal match,” the DACF said. “The fund was created with the assumption that this would always be the case.”
The Maine Policy Institute, a non-profit public policy think tank, testified in opposition to the measure, citing concerns over the loosening of “oversight and accountability mechanisms surrounding the use of public dollars.”
“By decoupling the fund from federal nutrition assistance programs and weakening eligibility criteria, LD 2004 opens the door for public funds to flow to a broader array of nonprofit organizations, many of which may lack proven track records, established compliance processes, or even nonpartisan missions,” the Maine Policy Institute said.
The Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (ACF) Committee unanimously voted in support of this bill, presenting the Legislature with a united Ought to Pass report.
Shortly thereafter, lawmakers in the Senate advanced this recommendation by a voice vote. A roll call vote was taken in the House during which all 128 members who were present at the time voted to pass LD 2004.
Gov. Mills signed the bill into law on March 3, 2026.
