Craig Hickman

Dear Maine:

By now you may have heard about my friend Craig Hickman. He’s a chef and farmer and a newly elected state representative in my district, which includes Winthrop and Readfield. An article by Bill Nemitz hit the papers and the web today that finally came close to capturing the essence of this beautiful man, but I have a little something to add.

Spend a moment around Craig and you’ll find his passion for feeding the needy is palpable. But what sets him apart from the pack is his deeply held belief that even the poor deserve delicious food made with care. It doesn’t have to be expensive; in fact, it can’t be with budgets as prohibitively tight as most soup kitchens have. And yet the food Craig makes for the soup kitchen–which he ran from his own house when its location became unavailable for months–would fetch $30 a plate here in Maine. And with the limited ingredients we have access to on a weekly basis, it’s an amazing feat…one that can only be explained by the love and respect he and all the volunteers at the soup kitchen have for the needy of our community.

He delivered a speech about the problem of hunger to local high school students last year–one that you can read here–that I believe most poignantly captures the impetus for all of the important work he does. Craig Hickman is proof in both word and deed that we can nourish our most needy best by feeding both body and the soul. Otherwise, a hot meal is just a placeholder in the stomach rather than message to fellow mankind that we see, we care, and we’ll help.