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Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), a senior House Appropriator and member of the House Agriculture Committee, today announced Heather Paquette, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, as her 2024 State of the Union Guest tomorrow night. With President Joe Biden expected to highlight his efforts to curb “shrinkflation” greed among big corporations and stave off harmful Republican cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Pingree said Ms. Paquette was the ideal guest to attend the President’s annual address to Congress. 

“Anyone who has been in a grocery store lately has seen how big food companies are squeezing consumers by shrinking the size of their products while keeping their prices high. I applaud President Biden’s efforts to combat ‘shrinkflation’ greed because hunger spikes when meals aren’t affordable, and food banks like Good Shepherd Food Bank have to lend additional support,” said Pingree. “As a member of the House Appropriations and Agriculture Committees, I’ve long fought against Republicans’ cruel cuts to critical nutrition programs, like SNAP and WIC. I am grateful Heather will be alongside me to hear from President Biden about his continued work to curb hunger nationwide.”

“As President of Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, I am honored to join Congresswoman Chellie Pingree as her guest at the 2024 State of the Union address. In Maine, where more than 144,290 neighbors, including 1 in 7 children, are faced with food insecurity. The issue of hunger is not just a statistic; it’s a daily reality for far too many families,” stated Paquette. “With every increase in the cost of living, we see a corresponding rise in the demand on the charitable food network. These programs are lifelines for many Mainers, providing essential support to vulnerable populations, including children, older Mainers, and individuals who may not know where their next meal is coming from. Together, we must continue to prioritize policies that ensure access to nutritious food for all Mainers, regardless of their economic circumstances. I look forward to hearing President Biden’s plans to combat hunger nationwide and to working collaboratively to create a brighter, more food-secure future for Maine and beyond.”

Members of Congress are permitted one guest to attend the annual presidential address in the House Chamber. Last year, former Maine Center for Disease Control Director Nirav D. Shah joined Pingree as her special guest for the State of the Union. President Biden’s speech will be tomorrow, March 7 at 9 p.m. EST.

ABOUT SHRINKFLATION

In a Super Bowl ad, President Biden chided big food corporations for ‘shrinkflation’ – saying there are now “fewer chips” in your bag, while companies are “still charging you just as much.” Even as inflation has steadily cooled under Biden’s leadership, big food companies’ profit margins have skyrocketed while the price of food remains stubbornly high. Last year, a damning Senate report found 10% of recent price hikes on food were attributable to companies’ reducing the number of items in a bag.

ABOUT DEMOCRATIC EFFORTS TO PROTECT SNAP & WIC

In Pingree’s district, 23,000 households depend on SNAP benefits each month, while over 3,000 pregnant and postpartum women and nearly 10,000 children participate in WIC. Despite the broad need in Maine and nationwide for these hunger relief programs, Congressional Republicans have pushed drastic cuts that would drive food insecurity rates skyward. 

As a senior Appropriator in the House and a member of the House Agriculture Committee charged with drafting a new Farm Bill, Pingree has been a stalwart defender of SNAP and WIC – demanding that these programs remain intact and pushing for funding increases. In an Agriculture Committee hearing last spring, Pingree confronted her Republican colleagues about how hard it is to stretch SNAP dollars and dared them to imagine eating on just $6 a day. 

As Congress edged toward another Republican shutdown last week, Democrats fought against cruel attempts to cut WIC benefits. Fortunately Congressional Democrats succeeded in ensuring the Agriculture appropriations bill fully funded WIC at the administration’s requested level of $7.03 billion, an increase of more than $1 billion. The funding bill is expected to pass the House tonight and head to the Senate for consideration.

ABOUT HEATHER PAQUETTE

As the President of Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, Heather Paquette leads a dedicated team of hunger-relief professionals to address the root causes of hunger by exploring innovative solutions, sourcing nutritious and culturally relevant food, and collaborating with a network of over 600 partnerships across Maine.

Before joining the Food Bank, she played a pivotal role at Ahold Delhaize, where she led a team focused on addressing the changing needs of retail consumers and store associates during the industries’ evolution and omnichannel ambitions. Her team sourced, tested, and delivered innovative solutions to enhance the consumer experience for the five brands under the Ahold Delhaize brand umbrella.

As a University of Southern Maine graduate with a degree in Business Finance, Heather began her career with Hannaford Supermarkets in 1999 as a Retail Management Training (RMT) program participant. During her 22 years with the company, her roles spanned from Assistant Store Manager to Vice President Retail Operations for Maine and New Hampshire, demonstrating her versatility and dedication to the brand.

ABOUT GOOD SHEPHERD FOOD BANK OF MAINE

As the largest hunger-relief organization in Maine, Good Shepherd Food Bank supports Mainers facing hunger by sourcing nutritious, culturally relevant food and distributing it to over 600 partner organizations across the state, including food pantries, meal sites, schools, health care centers, and senior programs. The Food Bank also supports the network of partners with capacity-building and innovation grants that improve and promote equitable and dignified access to nutritious food across the state. Last year, the Food Bank distributed more than 33 million meals through its network of partners, and strategically invested over $1.5 million in grants to the network of partners. The Food Bank leads a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. 

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