Daryl Madore / The Times RecordSue Mack, family services coordinator for Freeport Community Services, has worked with local farmers and businesses to ensure that there is fresh produce and breads available for clients in Freeport and Pownal.
It was a sobering thought for Staples, leader of Wiscasset Church of the Nazarene and the Wiscasset Nazarene Outreach, a food bank operating under the church’s umbrella. He read between the lines. There were times — perhaps too many times — that she was not able to eat all week. There are undoubtedly many others in her situation.
The food bank used to be open every other Sunday, Staples said. But since clientele tripled in the past five weeks, he’s now opening every week and serves about 50 families each Sunday. He errs on the side of allowing more frequent visits than some food pantries might, he explained recently.
Families can come back each week if they need to.
“I feel so strongly about giving the food away to people who need it,” Staples said, acknowledging criticism from those who feel some people could take advantage of the situation. “If we give to them all we’ll make sure those who need it will get it.”
James Duley, who has been a co-director of the Lisbon Area Christian Outreach since 2007, has “absolutely” seen a rise in clients seeking help. “We sign up new people almost every time we’re open. The need is great and getting greater.”
LACO serves close to 300 families who are each allowed one visit per month.
The Salvation Army in Bath used to average about 12 families a month at its emergency food bank, according to Maj. Jean Henderson. In September, she said, that number shot up to 72 families, and it hasn’t let up since.
Mid-coast Food Pantries Daryl Madore / The Times RecordMary Mraz of Freeport enjoys her very first shift as a volunteer at Freeport Communityy Services on Dec. 8.  Daryl Madore / The Times RecordDoug Koehling of Phippsburg stocks food boxes during a recent shift at the Bath Food Pantry. He’s been volunteering for three years, off and on, he said. SERVES: Arrowsic, Bath, Georgetown, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich Soup kitchen: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11:3012:30 p.m., at First Baptist Church, corner of Elm and Washington streets, Bath. Food pantry: Tuesday and Friday, 5-7 p.m., currently at 150 Congress Ave., Bath. One box per month. INFO: 737-9289. • Freeport Community Services Food Pantry • Grace Episcopal Church • Help Yourself Shelf • Lisbon Area Christian Outreach • Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program • Richmond Area Food Pantry • Salvation Army • Wiscasset Nazarene Outreach Other food pantries could not be confirmed by press time. Anyone with information on additional food pantries should contact Daryl Madore at Healthy.Living@timesrecord.com. |
“I’m not sure what happened in September; whether food stamps got cut or people reached five years (maximum) on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families,” she said. “We got to the point where we needed to go to other resources to meet the needs.”
In Freeport, requests for assistance are rising in all areas, according to Melanie Sachs, executive director of Freeport Community Services, which operates a food pantry for Freeport and Pownal.
“Most families come every week,” according to Sue Mack, who has been family services coordinator for 11 years at FCS. “We’re the Band-Aid for those not making it on food stamps.”
People can get fruits, vegetables and breads twice a week, and meats andcanned goods once a week, Mack explained, noting about 160 families are served weekly.
Karen Parker, executive director of Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick, said her organization has expanded hours at its soup kitchen and food pantry to meet the need, which increases about 10 percent a year in recent memory.
MCHPP used to operate Monday through Friday, but added Saturday hours in October 2013. “A lot of people work minimum wage jobs and are in poverty. Now they have another chance to access the food pantry and get a hot meal on Saturday in the soup kitchen.”
In late October, Parker told The Times Record they were on pace to serve 38,000 meals in 2014. On average, 150 people show up Monday through Saturday for a hot meal.
The Bath Food Bank, the umbrella organization for the food pantry and soup kitchen, has seen a 10- to 12-percent increase in its services, according to Executive Director Kimberly Gates.
The food bank, which is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, served 1,500 meals in October, said manager Patti Silva. “Our goal is a hot meal on a cold day. It’s comfort food.”
Seven-year volunteer Jay Coffey of Bath says the number of people utilizing the free meal has substantially increased since Oct. 1 when Silva took over management. “We were serving 20 people a day. The other day we served about 60,” he said. “There have been big improvements over what I’ve seen in seven years. We’ve got a good volunteer crew.”
And that’s been the common theme with each of the local anti-hunger organizations. Solid volunteers.
Volunteers make the difference
Programs like the soup kitchens and food pantries rely heavily on volunteers to stretch already limited resources further. And for some, they view it as a ministry opportunity.
Jackie Perfetto of Bath has been helping at the Bath Soup Kitchen for a couple of years. And though the organization is not technically faith-based, it’s not uncommon for people of faith like Perfetto to volunteer.
“My Lord says to serve others, and it brings me a lot of joy,” she said after delivering a tray full of bowls of either hamburger or roasted squash soup to hungry clients on Dec. 10. “The camaraderie is wonderful between the servers and the clients.”
At Freeport Community Services, retiree Laura Cyr has been helping people in the food pantry for five years.
“I believe in the organization. I have the time to give back to the community,” she said. “This place offers a lot of opportunity to do that.”
Not everybody is a volunteer veteran, however. Mary Mraz was about an hour or so into her first volunteer shift on Dec. 8 when a Healthy Living reporter stopped her.
“I retired from my job and thought it’d be nice to volunteer. (FCS) is such a good outfit,” she said. “I thought it’d be good to put some time in here.”
Mack would be the first to admit that the volunteer network goes beyond just those helping clients box up food. She explained that FCS has a network of partner farmers that donate fresh produce and vegetables regularly. Other businesses donate breads.
“We have so much produce and bread in that front room that I want people to take advantage of that,” Mack said. “We really have all the local grocery stores donating, and I can’t say enough about all the farms.”
Doug Koehling of Phippsburg has worked with the Bath Food Pantry off and on for about three years. His reasons are simple, but important. “It helps out the community. You may never know it, but some people need a hand.”
In Brunswick, about 175 volunteers are needed each week to run the various programs, including some who work five to six hour shifts.
“Without volunteers we would be closed,” said Karen Parker. “People are committed to serving people here. It’s a vision.”
Richmond Area Food Pantry has not experienced a spike in use over the past four years, but has remained steady at about 50 clients each time the pantry is open. According to Director Janette Sweem, about 40 percent of clients are elderly, and another 25 percent are younger than 18.
Like their counterparts around the area, “volunteering is the backbone of keeping our pantry open,” said Sweem.
There are no paid staff.
“We are so blessed to have the greatest volunteers who care about the success of the pantry and about the clients,” Sweem said. “From the elementary school doing a food drive to high schoolers offering to help carry out clients’ boxes to their cars, they all play a valuable role in taking care of those in need in our community.”
Hot meal, with a side of relationships
Freeport Community Services offers a free noon meal on the third Friday of the month (January to October) at its 53 Depot St. location. While the pantry is open to Pownal and Freeport residents only, the Friday meal is open to anybody, no questions asked.
The Neighborhood Café is an outreach of the Bath United Church of Christ every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., offering free food and fellowship. The church is moving from its Congress Avenue location but intends to continue offering the café, Pastor Bill Bliss said. As of press time, however, details of the temporary location for the café had not been announced.
The Bath Soup Kitchen is located at First Baptist Church at the corner of Elm and Washington streets. Food is served Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Rather than cafeteria style, clients are served individually at their table.
“People come for food, but the companionship, too,” said Robin Buczkowski, the assistant manager.
When people hear the term “soup kitchen,” there can be a stigma attached to it and people will shy away from it as a resource, Patti Silva explained.
“You get a good healthy meal here,” she said, adding that a lot of people just want camaraderie and to visit with friends.
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program on Union Street in Brunswick offers a hot meal six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Donors needed
Every anti-hunger program is in need of donations from the community. They truly operate on the “neighbors helping neighbors” philosophy that has been a part of the fabric of America for generations.
Many local organizations will host food drives for their local pantry, and dozens of businesses will offer their “still-good” produce and breads, meats and other items on a regular basis. But as the need grows, so too does the need for more donations. In particular, cash donations can make the largest impact, according to Kimberly Gates.
The food pantries that are part of the Good Shepherd Food Bank network are able to buy about $7 worth of food for $1. During a food drive, an individual may spend $1 on a can of vegetables and put the item in the collection box. The same dollar given to the food bank would have translate to seven or eight cans instead of one.
Other food programs
Bath Food Bank’s most visible programs are the soup kitchen and pantry, but Gates notes there are a number of other food-related projects that have been undertaken.
There is a new mini-pantry program at Morse High School for “couch surfers” who move from home to home. The school has about two dozen teen “surfers.”
“People have an impression that these are bad kids,: said Gates. “They’re good kids. They’re just hungry.”
There is a snack program at Fisher-Mitchell School so that teachers always have something on hand to give to hungry students.
A Good Shepherd mobile food truck visits Grace Episcopal Church on Washington Street the last Tuesday of each month from 2-4 p.m. While it does not come under the Bath Food Bank umbrella, Gates also oversees that project and fund raises for it. It costs $1,000 a month to bring the truck, which will feed between 260 and 300 families, she said.
Unlike typical pantries, there are no residency requirements and no questions asked at the food truck. Just bring your own box.
The food truck also visits MCHPP each month, generally on the third Thursday. Please do not arrive before 1 p.m., organizers ask.
Periodically, the food truck will visit Freeport and other communities as well.
A number of towns have summer feeding programs offered throughout the area, targeting children up to age 18.
Despite all the hard work each of the various organizations and their volunteer teams have put in, the sad reality is that people are still hungry. But people are discovering that hunger is no longer just a problem for a small sliver of the population.
As more “lower-middle class” families find themselves utilizing the services of anti-hunger agencies, awareness has begun to grow.
That’s something that Parker, Sachs, Gates, Staples and every other food bank director will need to embrace.
“Awareness is huge,” said Parker.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
