WESTBROOK – Throughout Maine this week, thousands of people will be giving thanks for their local food pantries.
With the economy continuing its slump, food banks are needed more than ever, according to Clara McConnell, communications manager at the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which is one of the largest donors of food to local food banks in Maine. Those local food banks are assembling their Thanksgiving food baskets, which will provide everything a family would need to make a full Thanksgiving dinner.
This year, McConnell said, the supply of food from retailers, food drives and other sources is “relatively steady compared to last year,” but that’s not necessarily a good thing, considering the 200,000 people statewide, and 36,000 in Cumberland County, who are in more dire need of food, according to McConnell.
“It’s not going as far, because the need is growing at a faster rate,” she said.
Statistics showing just how much faster are not available yet, but, McConnell said, one sign of the growing problem is the frequency that residents seek out their local food banks. McConnell said it used to be that a family might come in to the food bank once in a while to fill an emergency need. Now, she said, people are looking to food banks for more consistent support.
“Our partner agencies are seeing people coming back month after month after month,” she said.
The Thanksgiving baskets, McConnell said, contain vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and a turkey, things a family on a budget may not be able to afford.
It’s getting harder for the food bank to keep up, too. This year, McConnell said, Good Shepherd distributed 10,000 turkeys, the most it could get, for Thanksgiving food baskets throughout the state, and it still wasn’t enough to handle the need.
“We probably could have distributed twice that amount,” she said.
On Friday, Jeanne Rielly, director of the Westbrook Food Pantry, was taking stock of the supplies she had at the Westbrook Community Center, lining up empty boxes to be filled over the weekend for distribution on Tuesday.
This year, Rielly said, the pantry will be distributing about 275 baskets, which is 80-90 more than last year. Part of the reason for the increase, she said, was that last year was a transition time for the pantry, which had just moved into the center from its former home in the basement of the former St. Hyacinth’s School.
“They had to find us,” she said of the people seeking assistance.
This year, however, the pantry has a website, westbrookfoodpantry.org, and is much more visible at the Fred C. Wescott Building, leading to higher demand for their services, Rielly said.
“There’s much more traffic in this building,” she said.
Rielly said the food bank has eliminated the turkey shortage problem by deciding not to distribute turkeys at all. Instead, the baskets will contain a $10 gift card to Hannaford Supermarkets, so people can buy their own, and even chip in a little to get a larger one, if they wish.
“They’ve got an element of making their own decisions there, which is good,” she said.
In Gorham, residents requesting Thanksgiving baskets apply at Gorham Food Pantry, an ecumenical organization located in the parking lot at St. Anne’s Church. But Fran Doucette, director, said distribution is through the town’s churches and Gorham Business Exchange.
Last week, Doucette said, 138 were eligible so far for baskets. At First Parish Congregational Church, distribution of baskets began at 9 a.m. on Monday. A volunteer at the church, Cherry Finck, said the need is huge this year.
“There were four people waiting at the door,” Finck said when she arrived.
The Rev. David Butler, pastor of First Parish, said Monday the church is distributing 24 baskets of food and each contains a gift card – $20 for a family of two and up to $50 for larger families.
“They can get fresh food and buy a turkey,” Butler said, but gift cards prohibit purchase of alcohol or tobacco.
Food that fills the baskets at First Parish was donated by parishioners and Hannaford. The congregation also donated $580 to provide gift cards.
Butler said usage of the food pantry is way up, as is the number of people walking into the church asking for assistance.
“It’s a tough time right now,” Butler said.
The Buxton Community Cupboard is distributing 43 food baskets with 12 of those going to senior citizens. The number is up from about 29 baskets last year.
Boxes packed with food for Thanksgiving lined both sides of a corridor Monday.
“We’ve picked up more senior citizens lately,” Gwen Hatch, president of the cupboard, said Monday.
The Buxton Community Cupboard had 180 clients in August and the number jumped up to 197 in September.
The Thanksgiving food at the Buxton cupboard, located in Plummer’s Plaza at the intersection of routes 112 and 22, comes from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in addition to donations from local churches, individuals and Plummer’s Market.
Those receiving Thanksgiving baskets at Buxton Community Cupboard are required to be qualified.
An independent pantry, Buxton Community Co-op on Route 22 is also providing baskets and made 27 available last year. Director Joann Groder has seen a marked demand for food this year and said one client at the co-op has seven children.
How does the co-op determine who is eligible to receive Thanksgiving food?
“I ask who needs one,” Groder said.
Staff writer Robert Lowell also contributed to this report.
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