Stone Soup Food Pantry in Biddeford has closed its doors and Don Liberty, one of the co-directors, was packing up Tuesday with the help of a volunteer. Some of the equipment was given to other pantries, while other items have outlived their usefulness, he said. The pantry has helped families for 27 years. Tammy Wells Photo
BIDDEFORD — Stone Soup Food Pantry, which has served thousands of those in need for 27 years, has closed its doors for good.
One of the co-directors, Don Liberty, confirmed the closure in an interview on Tuesday morning by phone from the Main Street pantry, where he was packing up.
He said the decision to close was difficult, but the building is for sale, donations have dwindled since the pandemic, and that, along with other issues, prompted the closure.
Liberty said he’s been a volunteer at Stone Soup for more than 17 years and a co-director with Michelle Gionest for seven years, following the death of Kathy Duke and the retirement of her Co-Director Helen Lewis.
In all, Stone Soup helped serve the hungry for nearly three decades.
“Twenty-seven years ago, they started giving bread out from a box truck,” said Liberty. He said in recent years the pantry served about 100 families each week.
“God provided the food and we handed it out,” said Liberty. “We never turned anyone away. We served the community well.”
The closure leaves one food pantry in a city that has had two for years. The other, Biddeford Food Pantry, open 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, is located at 162 Elm St.
Biddeford Food Pantry Director Don Bisson said the number of families seeking food at that pantry is up since the coronavirus pandemic began, and he expects a further increase with the closure of Stone Soup.
“We’re at 700 families a month,” said Bisson. “It used to be 600 a month before COVID.”
Before the pandemic, he said, families picked up food once a month at Biddeford Food Pantry, which opened in 1981, but now allows pick-up once a week, and is offered curbside. Bisson said he expects eventually the schedule will revert to the once-a-month pick-up.
With the closure of Stone Soup Food Pantry came the dispersal of equipment and supplies, and among the recipients is Saco Food Pantry. Director John White said the pantry accepted Stone Soup’s offer of three refrigeration units and food.
“Many thanks to them,” he said.
Liberty said he’s also found a location to accept clothing that had been donated to the Stone Soup pantry.
“I’m sorry they’re closing,” said Rev. Shirley Bowen at Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, a South Street resource that assists people in need. She said the neighborhood center has always given out information for both Biddeford pantry options, and the closure of Stone Soup will have an impact. “I’m sorry that resource is gone,” she said.
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