#1 CRF Community Advisory Committee

To help guide the restructuring and improvement of the CRF, outreach was conducted to community leaders with a focus on individuals who had both experience with grant funding (both managing and applying) and deep connections to communities of color. The 2022 CRF Community Advisory Committee members included:

Crystal Cron, Director of Presente Maine Maulian Dana, Penobscot Tribal Ambassador Alice Kabore, Multicultural and Multilingual Coordinator at South Portland Schools Charles Mugabe, Director of Case Management at Catholic Charities Grace Valenzuela, Executive Director of Multilingual and Multicultural Center at Portland Public Schools

CRF Community Advisors reviewed a number of policies and guiding documents, including the new CRF Stipend Policy, CRF Guiding Principles and Framework, and reviewed and helped select members of the CRF Community Table, the CRF grant review committee. The CRF Advisory Committee also served as a sounding board to Food Bank staff.

Foodisdeeplyrootedincultureandtradition Itʼsoneofthebestwaystoconnect withpeoplewhocomefromvariousculturalbackgrounds.Havingpeoplefrom diversecommunitiesinMaineguidethegrantprocessanddecision-makingforGood SheperdFoodBank'sCommunityRedistributionFundallowforequitableaccessand thepotentialforbringingcommunitiestogether.

Grace Valenzuela. Ph.D., 2022 CRF Grant Advisory Committee Member and Director of Portland Public Schools Multilingual and Multicultural Center