ALFRED — The financial situation for York County Food Rescue is much brighter today, and the program director says the public’s generosity means the agency is close to what it needs to be able to continue to operate.

Donations have been flowing in since Jodi Bissonnette, who directs the program that supplies food to 45 area food pantries and soup kitchens, issued a news release about the agency’s precarious financial situation and imminent closure last week. The agency, she said in an interview Thursday, was out of cash.

York County Food Rescue was unable to register its truck, fill it with gasoline and pay other bills. It was also unable to pay staff.

Bissonnette said last week the agency had plenty of food to distribute, but no money.

By Tuesday morning, the agency had received about $4,995 in donations, with a promise of $2,500 more from an anonymous donor if the agency could raise $5,000. By Tuesday afternoon, a donation of $2,000 from the Maine Credit Union League helped swell the coffers as well.

John Murphy, president of the Maine Credit Union League, said many food pantries count on York County Food Rescue.

“Its closure would mark a major crisis for many who provide food to the thousands of people in York County who otherwise would go hungry,” Murphy said in a prepared statement announcing the credit union league’s donation.

“People are wonderful,” said Bissonnette. “The phones have been ringing like crazy.”

And more donations are expected. Sanford businessman Fred Smith, who is also a city councilor, said he had some local businesses contacting him, asking how they could help. So he set up a program whereby those Sanford area residents who made a donation to the food rescue program ”“ with checks made out to York County Food Rescue ”“ could be entered into a drawing for 100 gallons of heating oil and a host of other incentives. Smith on Tuesday said, so far, he’s had pledges of about $1,000.

York County Food Rescue receives food donations through the U.S. Department of Agriculture commodity program, through donations from food drives and from distributors. It does not charge food pantries a fee for the food it supplies them.

On Tuesday, the agency was able to go ahead with a distribution, supplying each pantry with about 900 pounds of frozen food and 400 pounds of produce. Next week, another distribution is scheduled.

The agency recently became nonprofit on its own after operating for several years under the helm of Stone Soup Food Pantry in Biddeford. Bissonnette said it was a lengthy process, and the agency wasn’t able to apply for grants during the intervening time period because it was in the process of separating from the Stone Soup nonprofit.

Bissonnette said the agency has applied for grants, but they take time ”“ more time, she said, then she and York County Food Rescue President Tom Vacca expected.

“We had some money in the bank, and we didn’t feel it (would) stretch far enough to get us over the hump,” she said.

She said she and Vacca believed the food commodities program, which supplies funds to help deliver the food it supplies, paid on a different schedule than they apparently do; the next installment is due in January. And Bissonnette said last week that she’s been told the agency has been successful with a grant application, but at that time, didn’t know when the cash would be turned over.

“We try to do the best we can,” said Bissonnette Tuesday. “It was the last thing we wanted to do, to put out a plea.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].