SACO — On Dec. 15, volunteers at the Diaper Bank at First Parish Congregational Church, UCC in Saco handed out 1,640 diapers, in bundles of 40 per child, to 23 families.

The church’s diaper bank, started by a handful of volunteers eight short months ago, has become a success — so much so that the need for diapers has increased, a lot.

“It has taken off like crazy, and the need is so great,” said Pam Mohlin, who got the idea for a diaper bank here after hearing about one in the Midcoast. She got together with some fellow parishioners, and started the bank to assist people in Saco, Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach.

Early on, turnout was modest, but that has changed.

“We’ve given out more than 1,000 diapers a week for the past three months,” she said.

The good news is because it exists, parents in the area who are in difficult financial circumstances are now better equipped to keep their babies’ bottoms dry.

While people  in the church and in the wider community have been generous with funds,  and the volunteers shop where the price is advantageous, the need for diapers is constant. Newborns require up to a dozen diapers a day, older children use less.

The group of volunteers at the church is happy to accept donations, both from individuals and from corporations  looking to find ways to benefit the community, said Mohlin. People may mail checks earmarked for the diaper bank to First Parish Congregational Church, 12 Beach St., Saco, 04072.

“Just when I think we’re at the end of the financial line, we get a check from (someone in) the community or the congregation,” said Mohlin. “And someone got a bonus at work and sent $200 for diapers — it really is so heartwarming.”

Additional contributions are welcomed.

The goal of the diaper bank is to assist infants and toddlers in low-income families by providing a portion of the diapers they need each week.

Mohlin said more than 100 families have registered with the program since May 12. On average the bank serves 20-26 families a week.

“Some are regulars, and we have watched their babies grow,” said Mohlin. Some have come once, others come for a while, she added.

Neither WIC, which concentrates on nutrition benefits for mothers and their children, nor the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) program allow diaper purchases, Jennifer Viger of York County Community Action Corporation said in a May interview. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, known as TANF, allows for the purchase of diapers, but doing so uses about 16 percent of the monthly benefit, according to a December 2020 Portland Press Herald story.

Diapers can cost families as much as $100 a month.

Along with diapers, the volunteer group also offers feminine hygiene products, and other items when available — they were gifted a large quantity of baby wipes, which were welcomed by the babies’ moms, and a quantity of shampoo and similar items.

Winter hours at the diaper bank are 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays.

“We don’t have meetings or a board,” said Mohlin of the volunteer group. “We just coordinate with the pastor — Rev. Scott Cousineau — buy the diapers and give them to the people who need them. It’s so simple, and that is what appeals to the people who donate.”

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