Volunteers sort items to be distributed at the South Portland Food Cupboard on Tuesday. Contributed / Lauren Smith Kennedy

The South Portland Food Cupboard is ramping up its fundraising efforts and preparing for the annual Battle of the Neighborhoods food drive to help keep up with the ever-increasing list of recipients across southern Maine.

The pantry on Thadeus Street served about 22,000 people in 2024, up from 17,300 people in 2023. Based on recent trends, staff anticipate they will serve more than 23,000 people in 2025.

“We’re seeing about 10 to 15 new families come to us every week,” said Dwayne Hopkins, executive director of the Food Cupboard. “This past month we were way up.”

The Food Cupboard served 286 families in December, leaping to 344 in January, a 20% increase.

Now through Thursday, Feb. 13, the Food Cupboard is running a Love Your Neighbor fundraising campaign, featuring an anonymous $5,000 matching grant challenge. The challenge comes from a couple who volunteer at the pantry, Hopkins said. While they’ve offered matching challenge grants in the past, they upped the ante this year.

“They really wanted to push it this year and they’ve increased their willingness to give up to $5,000,” Hopkins said. “We’re just thrilled that they are volunteers who recognize the need. They see from the inside out that we’re a reputable organization, that we’re going to handle the money well and do the best with it that we can.”

The Love Your Neighbor campaign takes its name from Valentine’s Day, which is on Friday, Feb. 14, this year.

“I think it fits perfectly with the Valentine’s season – just love being the theme,” said Lauren Smith Kennedy, development and communications associate at the Food Cupboard. “This is a different type of love, through food and through nourishment.”

Volunteers prepare for Tuesday’s distribution day. The South Portland Food Cupboard has seen 10 to 15 new families come and seek the pantry’s support each week to start 2025. Contributed / Lauren Smith Kennedy

The annual Battle of the Neighborhoods drive, where South Portland neighborhoods take on the challenge of donating the most pounds of food, will kick off on Feb. 14 and run through March 17.

Last year, the drive pit the eastern and western portions of the city against one another, but it will return to the individual, 14-neighborhood format this year.

“If people want to reach out to us financially instead, they can do that, too,” Hopkins said. “For every dollar they want to donate, it will be equivalent to two pounds of food.”

The Love Your Neighbor campaign and Battle of the Neighborhoods drive come at a time when donations to food pantries are routinely low following a big push during the holiday season.

“Hunger doesn’t take a vacation. It’s not seasonal,” Hopkins said. “Hunger is seven days a week, 365 days of the year.”

While one neighborhood will ultimately be crowned the winner of the Battle of the Neighborhoods drive, everyone who donates – and the thousands of recipients who benefit from those donations – are all winners in the Food Cupboard’s book.

“One in five children are food insufficient or hungry, one in seven families are food insufficient or hungry, and that’s right here in Cumberland County,” Hopkins said. “It’s the kids that your kids go to school with. It’s the families you work with that you don’t even realize are food insufficient or hungry. We want to provide that good, nutritional base for them.”

To donate to the Love Your Neighbor campaign, go to southportlandfoodcupboard.org, click “donate,” check the “add note” box and type “Love Your Neighbor” to ensure it goes toward the matching challenge grant.

To donate money toward the Battle of the Neighborhoods, follow the same process and type “Battle of the Neighborhoods” and which neighborhood you are representing. Food toward the drive can be dropped off at the Food Cupboard at 130 Thaddeus St. from Feb. 14 through March 17. Ensure donations are marked with the neighborhood you live in.

For more information, contact the South Portland Food Cupboard at foodcupboard@maine.rr.com or call 874-0379.