Salisbury

Rep.  Suzanne Salisbury, D-Westbrook, has received the Outstanding Woman of 2022 award for her work with food insecurity and small businesses.

The award from Coast 93.1 and Hannaford aims to recognize women in the state “who go above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference in their communities,” according to a Feb. 22 press release from the Maine Legislature’s House Democratic Office.

Salisbury chairs the Emergency Medical Service Caucus and the Food Insecurity Caucus.

The EMS Caucus aims to address critical workforce shortages within the emergency responder field, while the Food Insecurity Caucus was created in response to legislation introduced last year, and is focused on ending hunger in Maine by 2030 in partnership with local agricultural initiatives, schools and programs housed under the Department of Health and Human Services.

Salisbury has been an advocate of bills in both committees, including sponsoring a “bill that passed into law that removed limits on the number of taste-testing events for beer, wine and spirits to help local vendors rebound from the pandemic,” according to the press release. She also is working on a bill she submitted last year, which would update the requirements for becoming a behavioral health professional.

Salisbury is a member of the Westbrook School Committee and runs “Westbrook Families Feeding Families,” a nonprofit that provides food to those in need.