Hannaford's Portland, Maine, stores prepare for bag fee

Hannaford Bros. is helping its Portland, Maine, shoppers prepare for an upcoming disposable bag fee by giving away reusable bags for free.

A city ordinance that charges a 5-cent fee on disposable paper and plastic bags goes into effect on April 15. The fee applies to grocery stores and convenience stores where food makes up more than 2% of sales.

Hannaford’s Portland stores will bag all groceries in free reusable totes (a $1.29 value) from March 29 until April 14.

The company will also donate 25 cents to hunger relief for each bag given away or sold.

“This is our way to help our customers in these stores get the reusable bags they'll need and help fight hunger at the same time,” Hannaford wrote in a Facebook post.