From Maine to Maui, credit unions fight hunger as food insecurity grips millions

During a leadership meeting at Columbia Credit Union in Washington state last fall, someone shared the story of a working family in their community forced to choose between buying socks or food for their children. The room went quiet.  

Within days, the credit union committed $10,000 to the Clark County Food Bank and launched a branch-wide food drive. It is the kind of moment that turns a statistic into a mission.

That impulse to act is playing out at credit unions nationwide. In Maine, the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger raised $1,496,117 in food and monetary donations during 2025, surpassing a $1.35 million goal set in honor of the campaign’s 35th anniversary and supporting 298 organizations that feed families from Kittery to Fort Kent.

“Behind every dollar raised is a neighbor, a family, or a child who needs reliable access to food,” said Elise Baldacci, president of the Maine Credit Union League. Maine’s milestone stands out among a wave of credit union hunger-relief campaigns announced in recent weeks.  

A crisis that demands local action

The timing is no accident. The most recent USDA Household Food Security report found that 47.9 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2024. The USDA defines food insecurity as a household’s inability to provide enough food for all its members at all times because of a lack of money or other resources. Nearly one in seven households met that threshold, and the rate climbed to 18.4% among households with children.  

Meanwhile, Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability measured a sharp spike in food insecurity in late 2025 , with the national rate reaching 16% in November.

Credit unions are positioned to respond in ways that large banks typically do not. Because they are member-owned cooperatives rather than shareholder-driven corporations, community reinvestment is woven into their structure. Campaigns announced this winter demonstrate the range of that commitment.

In North Carolina, Truliant Federal Credit Union and the Truliant Foundation raised more than $107,000 through a holiday campaign that paired a $50,000 institutional kick-off with a dollar-for-dollar match from the foundation. Those funds are now feeding families across four food banks in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.  

“With these funds, organizations can continue to help more families access nutritious meals, even as costs rise and demand grows,” said Atticus Simpson, executive director of the Truliant Foundation.

Many models, one mission

What makes these efforts especially noteworthy is their variety. In Rhode Island, Navigant Credit Union and its Charitable Foundation launched an inaugural Season of Giving campaign that raised $65,412 for Feed RI, with the credit union contributing $30,000 in matching funds on top of $35,412 collected through the foundation. Navigant plans to make the initiative an annual tradition.

In Hawaiʻi, the Credit Unions of Maui pooled resources across six institutions to raise $8,000 and collect more than 1,800 pounds of food for the Maui Food Bank. “This annual drive reflects what the credit union movement is all about, people helping people,” said Guy Muraoka, spokesperson for the collaborative.

The Illinois Credit Union System donated $13,000 to 13 food pantries and community organizations across the state, guided by its Commit to Change Committee. And in Wisconsin, Fort Community Credit Union created an employee payroll-giving program that directs voluntary contributions to local nonprofits, including the Jefferson Food Pantry .

Why it matters for members

Food insecurity is not just a humanitarian concern; it is a financial one. Families who cannot afford groceries are more likely to fall behind on bills, rely on high-cost credit, and forgo preventive health care. For credit unions whose mission centers on improving members’ financial lives, hunger relief is upstream work that strengthens the communities where those members live and work.

“Since the Campaign’s founding in 1990, Maine credit unions have contributed more than $16.3 million to support hunger-relief efforts across the state,” Baldacci noted. “Credit unions remain committed to building on this momentum, working alongside community partners, responding to emerging needs, and ensuring this long-standing effort to end hunger grows even stronger.”