UNE students bring meals, and connection, to Dempsey Center clients

On a cold November afternoon, inside the bright new Dempsey Center location at Rock Row in Westbrook, a group of University of New England students gathered around a teaching kitchen island, chopping herbs, stirring steaming pots, and showing clients and health care partners how to turn a simple shelf-stable meal kit into something nourishing, flavorful, and comforting.

Their task wasn’t complicated, but its impact was unmistakable: prepare healthy, accessible meals for members of the Dempsey Center community as part of the nonprofit’s monthly Connect + Experience Program, where participants come together for conversation, support, and hands-on activities designed to offer respite from their cancer treatments and daily stress.

Students from UNE’s various health professions program prepare ingredients that will be used in a cooking demonstration for Dempsey Center clients.

The event extended UNE’s annual Meals for Maine initiative, an effort that has grown exponentially since its 2023 launch. Just two months earlier, UNE volunteers packed 150,000 nonperishable meal kits for distribution statewide. Now, those meals were in the hands of patients and families who could use them most.

Director of UNE’s Service-Learning Office, Trisha Mason, M.A., helped open the door to this new collaboration after connecting with the Dempsey Center’s nutrition team. With thousands of high-quality meal kits prepared each fall, she wanted to cultivate new and meaningful ways to extend the University’s community outreach.

“We had 150,000 meals and I was thinking, ‘Where are they all going to go?’” Mason said. “I was referred to the Dempsey Center’s nutritionist and asked if their clients might appreciate a really easy, quick, nutritious meal—and they did. Many families could use something simple they can rely on, especially at this time of year and throughout the holiday season.”

The Dempsey Center ultimately received four boxes worth 204 meals each. That translates to over 800 healthy meals distributed to patients and their families affected by cancer through the Center’s programs and client services.

Mason said the collaboration is about more than logistics; it’s about stepping beyond campus and into community spaces where connection and compassion matter.

“Our students get to be present with people, without grades or pressure,” Mason said. “They’re there as humans, not just as students, helping other humans over a meal.” 

Students Learning by Doing

Eight students from multiple health disciplines — pharmacy, nutrition, exercise science, and other integrated health professions — participated in the Nov. 19 event. They prepared the rice-and-bean meal kit developed for Meals for Maine, demonstrating simple ways to increase its nutritional value by adding fresh ingredients such as avocado, tomatoes, herbs, Greek yogurt, or lean proteins.

Second-year pharmacy student Lily Bennett, who helped assemble the meal kits in September, said seeing the full arc of the initiative, from preparation to community delivery, was a powerful example of UNE’s mission in action.

“I was super excited when I found out these were the meals made by UNE students,” said Bennett (Pharm.D., ’28). “We felt so happy after the meal-packing event in September, seeing the impact on community members. Now, seeing people here at the Dempsey Center who might be in a tough situation, it’s even more impactful. 

“We saw the process from start to finish, so it’s very sentimental,” she said.

For Bennett, the experience also dovetailed directly to her future profession, with the growing belief that food can serve as medicine.

“Nutrition is one of the most beneficial treatments,” she said. “What you put into your body is what you’re going to get out of it. Feeding it properly can only help with disease.” 

Left: Kelsey Randall (M.S. Applied Nutrition, ’27), far left, prepares healthful toppings for the kits. Right: Lily Bennett (Pharm.D., ’28) and her peers prepare one of the meal kits assembled in September. 

Kelsey Randall, a student in UNE’s College of Graduate and Professional Studies (UNE Online) supported the event by analyzing the meal kit’s nutrition label and preparing a supplemental guide showing how participants could modify the recipe to better meet their dietary needs.

“I thought the ingredients were very healthful, and you can add a lot,” noted Randall (M.S. Applied Nutrition, ’27). “You can increase protein, healthy fats, fiber, and make it a fuller meal. Later, I’ll be talking through the guide I made to explain how to extend the meal.” 

Randall said the day also demonstrated the value of interprofessional teamwork.

“I think it’s great that so many different majors can come together to help the community,” she said. “Being able to gather in-person across UNE’s campus- and online-based programs, and do a project that helps others, is really meaningful.” 

Putting Mission Into Action

UNE’s sweeping health education mission is deeply tied to service, with a commitment to improving the health of people and their communities. At the Dempsey Center’s Rock Row space, that mission was on full display.

There, health professions students weren’t just studying chronic disease; they were helping prevent it by addressing one of its most significant drivers: food insecurity, which Mainers experience at the second-highest rate in New England.

“They weren’t just learning about interprofessional care. They were practicing it, together, in a real-world setting that supported patients and caregivers during a vulnerable stage of life,” Mason said.

Left: Students begin their Service-Learning activities with smiles abound. Right: An assortment of fruits, vegetables, and toppings to enhance and extend the Meals for Maine meal kits.

Michelle Small, comfort and well-being manager for the Dempsey Center, said that, for members of the Center’s community, the experience offered not only nourishment but a chance to feel cared for, seen, and supported. 

“To sit down at this program and have a bite to eat and … visit with students and others going through something similar, it was a nice afternoon for me,” said one client participant, while another remarked, “These students were so wonderful! I’ve spent my whole life thinking I didn’t like avocadoes until (they were) used as a meal-enhancer today.”

“It’s wonderful to see our clients benefit from this kind of care and equally inspiring to watch students gain such impactful, real-world experience,” he said.

A Growing Service Movement

Mason said the success of the November Connect + Experience event signals the potential for a long-term partnership with The Dempsey Center — and the work will continue beyond the Westbrook organization’s walls.

Left: Participating students pose in The Dempsey Center’s demonstration kitchen. Right: Fresh avocados were one of several nutritious toppings offered to the Center’s clients.

UNE and the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation are already preparing for a second Meals for Maine event this March, where students will assemble another 50,000 meals destined for communities in need — in the heart of downtown Portland, the state’s largest city, where people will directly benefit from this actionable service.

For Bennett, Randall, and their peers, the meaning is simple: service doesn’t end at the edge of campus. It travels wherever people need care, nourishment, and connection.

“It’s super nice to see the level of community UNE has,” Bennett said. “Being able to work with other future health care and community members to help someone else is just really rewarding.”