Home Cooked Healing Needs Your Help

There are two things I will say until my last breath.. I hate cancer and Mainers take care of Mainers and those they love. That's why I'm such a big fan of this program where Home Cooked Healing, a nonprofit service provides up to five dinners a week at no charge for cancer patients and their families all over Hancock County. It's like a food train!

Home Cooked Healing was born in the fall of 2014 when Bar Harbor Barter&Swap Founder Katia Brophy created a group file requesting cooks for those in need. It was an exciting first year, and  the handful of volunteer cooks soon grew and evolved to help families affected by cancer.

By the second year Home Cooked Healing was taken under wing by several  nonprofits. Christopher Walsh, President of the Town Hill Village Improvement Society, along with the VIS board, gave them their very own room in the Town Hill Hall. This is where cooks drop off the food they have lovingly prepared, and volunteers have a central location to pick up and deliver to those who request the meals.

Michael Reisman, Director of the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center, refers people to the program and the center provides some of the funds needed to purchase fresh fish and organic vegetables. The rest of the food, however, has always been purchased by the cooks as a donation to the program, which has grown tremendously in the past two-and-a-half years.

Now,entering their 4th year, Home Cooked Healing is asking your help with food costs. They cook for up to twelve people each week, using the certified organic ingredients that more and more doctors have been recommending to their patients. A freezer has recently been donated and they have ample shelving for pantry items. Their goal is to fill the freezer with a side of beef and chickens, stock the pantry with the staples their cooks need, and provide additional funds for fresh fish and vegetables.

Home Cooked Healing is grateful for any amount you can give, and no amount is too small  because every dollar goes directly toward food costs.  As one of their grateful recipients recently said, "Cancer is a journey, and when I was first diagnosed I felt so alone. Now I feel like you're all on this journey with me."

Your donation is tax deductible through the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center. If you would like to receive a tax donation letter, please email Lisa DeMuro at Elisa.demuro@gmail.com and put "Tax Receipt" in the subject line.

If you or someone you know would benefit from Home Cooked Healing's service, please call Michael Reisman at 207-664-0339 to sign up today.

If you would like to cook or volunteer  please email Mary Ann Perlman at maryannperlman@gmail.com and put "HCH Cooks" in the subject line.

If you are able to help them financially please send a check to the Beth C. Wright Cancer Center PO Box 322 Ellsworth Maine 04605 and note in the memo line that the donation is for HCH - Home Cooked Healing