Food pantries see increase in need by families

Food pantries in Washington and Charlotte counties are seeing an increase in use over last year's rise in demand. Melissa Glenn, public relations for Good Shepherd-Food Bank, says that her organization has increased its supply of food to Washington County from 301,000 pounds of food for its fiscal year 2008 to 481,000 pounds of food for fiscal year 2009. The increase is "huge" she says, but "the actual need in Washington County is closer to 1.5 million pounds of food." Local pantries try to make up the difference through food drives and donation solicitation.

Clients of all ages

New clients are from all ages, report the volunteers working with the area pantries. Clients range from college students trying to make ends meet to working families to the elderly. Of the students, "a lot have jobs, but there's not enough to go around," says Carmela Walton, a volunteer with the Irene Chadbourne Food Pantry in Calais. For November, the Calais-based pantry, open every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, served 2,500 meals, about 400 more than served in October. The neighboring community of Baileyville has the Woodland Food Pantry, which is open two days a month but has 24-hour emergency call service. "We've seen an increase. We're up to about 100 to 120 per month, and about 10 to 20 more families" than last year, volunteer Tanya Scott reports.

Rhonda Voisine, a volunteer with the Friends of the Boat School, has helped start a small food bank for students at The Boat School-B Husson in Eastport. Voisine says that they keep the freezer full of hamburger, hot dogs and chicken, but that there is a need for vegetables, soups, cereal and other basics. "If they aren't well-nourished, they can't learn properly," she says of the need. A group of master gardeners helped supplement the student food bank at the end of the summer with 22 pounds of locally grown vegetables. The gardeners also contributed 342 pounds of vegetables to the Eastport-based Labor of Love Food Pantry. Master gardeners around the county have been contributing to food pantries as a part of their community service mission.

Fern Garrapy of the Labor of Love Food Pantry in Eastport is seeing about 15 more people per month. She says they now serve from 150 to 175 per month, with more elderly coming in.

About 100 more families are coming to the Whiting Community Food Pantry. The new clients are comprised of seniors and working families. The food pantry is open the third Monday of the month, but, as with most of the pantries, emergency food is available by calling their phone number and leaving a message.

"More elderly are coming in and married couples with families where one has lost their job," says Helen Vose, a volunteer with the Machias Food Pantry. "They cannot survive on one salary. I think this is going to get worse," she says of the working couples struggling to get by. Of the elderly clients, she says, "It's amazing to me how little they live on." Her organization was distributing 30 to 40 bags of food a week. That has gone up to 50 to 60 bags a week. "We're very fortunate. People have been very good with donations of food and money."

One of the few pantries open five days a week is the St. Ann's Food Pantry at Pleasant Point. Mary Lou Barnes reports that they are seeing about 10 more people a month over last year. They are now serving 30 to 40 families. The pantry is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and "has had a good flow of donations," but Barnes adds that February is generally the hardest month for both clients and the pantry. "We're seeing younger families, young couples just starting," she says. Like many others working with Washington County food pantries, Barnes notes the importance of the Good Shepherd Food-Bank and its small matching grant program.

Melissa Glenn explains the grant program. Each year local nonprofit or agency food banks/pantries can request that Good Shepherd match a specific amount of money for their purchase account. "After receiving all requests, Good Shepherd determines the amount that we will actually be able to match due to limited funds." In December, the local organizations are notified of the amount that they are eligible to have matched. Glenn says, "They have four months to raise that same amount." After the fundraising period, the agencies send the funds that they have raised to the Good Shepherd for deposit into their account along with the corresponding match. "For every one dollar donated, this equals $12.50 in food buying power or four and one-half meals," says Glenn. In this manner, local food pantries and banks can take advantage of the buying power that the Good Shepherd Food-Bank has with food suppliers and markets.

New Brunswick sees increase

The Deer Island Safety Net food bank has seen a slight increase, according to volunteer Joyce Stuart. She and six other volunteers coordinate the pantry's efforts and are busy preparing for the "very active" holidays. "We've always got concerns about donations and food," she says, "but people on the island are really quite generous." She notes that ministers deliver food directly to families in need so "that dignity is preserved."

A cross-range of clients is consistent with last year's demographics, says Tammy Brown, a volunteer with Action Ministries' food bank on Grand Manan. "We do have more clients than last year." Another volunteer, Marilyn Cary, adds that instead of 20 clients, they are now seeing about 30 per month. Clients are allowed one visit per month to the bank. "It's substantially up, but not everyone comes every month." Brown explains that items like heating costs are stressing family food budgets. Volunteers have worked hard to fundraise on the island in order to take advantage of match opportunities with Bank of Nova Scotia and Kraft Canada. Young adults who participated in the John Howard Society's life-skills training "took what they learned and turned it into action." The group organized an evening coffee house with open mike event and raised $700 for the food bank. Brown adds, "I am so proud of them."

Campobello has a "fledgling food pantry," says Rev. Robert Weaver. The pantry had its first annual meeting in October. "We came into existence because our community asked us to. A local food bank was needed because people didn't have the resources to travel to St. Stephen." He explains that the food pantry is referral based. "This was a tip from Deer Island and it works well for us." Community members gather the food and bring it to the families in need. "This preserves privacy." Because the pantry has just completed its first year, Weaver says that client numbers are moderate. "We're certainly busier in the wintertime."

Local food pantries welcome donations

If anyone wishes to send a financial donation to area food pantries, the addresses are as follows: The Boat School Student Food Pantry, Attn: School Administrator Caryn Vinson, 16 Deep Cove Rd., Eastport, ME 04631; Campobello Food Pantry, attn: Glenn Alexander, 79 Lighthouse Road, Wilson's Beach, Campobello, NB E5E 1K6; Deer Island Food Bank, 30 Richardson Rd., Richardson, NB E5V 1S5; Grand Manan Food Bank, Action Ministries, 70 Red Point Rd., Grand Manan, NB E5G 4J2; Irene Chadbourne Food Pantry, c/o Carmela Walton, 705 Main Street, Princeton, ME 04668; Labor of Love Food Pantry, c/o Fern Garrapy, 9 Janney Street, Eastport, ME 04631; St. Ann's Food Pantry (Pleasant Point), P.O. Box 343, Perry, ME 04667; Machias Food Pantry, P.O. Box 265, Machias, ME 04654; Whiting Community Food Pantry, 340 U.S. Rt. 1, Dennysville, ME 04628; Woodland Food Pantry, c/o Church of the Living Stone, 55 Broadway, Baileyville, ME 04736. The Good Shepherd Food-Bank may be visited at <www.gsfb.org>.