Wiscasset, led by Town Clerk Chris Wolfe, won the first annual “Fill the Food Pantry” challenge, the brainchild of Damariscotta Town Clerk Cheryl Pinkham.
According to Pinkham, Alna, with “a trailer full of donations;” Damariscotta, with seven boxes of food, “a truck load” of squash and cabbage and a $500 donation; Nobleboro, with 12 boxes and a $100 donation and Boothbay with about 20 pounds, also turned in impressive performances.
Every town in Lincoln County, with the exception of Boothbay Harbor, participated in the challenge, Pinkham said.
Due to popular demand, the event will return on an annual basis, Pinkham said.
“This was something at first I thought of as a good distraction during the election season, but also a great way to generate donations and awareness of the food pantry and their needs,” Pinkham wrote in a Nov. 8 e-mail. “I was truly blown away by the generosity of those who did contribute. If a voter came in with a donation it was usually a bag of items and not just one item. It really was amazing.”
Each town sent the proceeds of the drive to the pantry serving their town.
Brad Schaaf is the Chair of the Ecumenical Food Pantry at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle, which also serves Damariscotta.
“There was a great deal of food,” Schaaf said of the donations from the challenge. “It was a terrific thing that they did.”
“That was quite a shock,” Schaaf said of the anonymous, $500 donation in Damariscotta.
In addition to Damariscotta’s stockpile, Nobleboro split their 12 boxes between the Ecumenical Food Pantry and the Jefferson Area Food Bank.
The Ecumenical Food Pantry has met a daunting challenge in the form of the still stagnant economy. Formerly, the pantry restricted visits to once a month. Now, they allow those in need to visit as frequently as necessary. The average is about twice a month, Schaaf said.
The organization has also streamlined the pick-up process to improve efficiency. In the past, volunteers scrolled through a Rolodex in order to locate the cards of each visitor. “We automated everything,” Schaaf said. “We can probably even handle twice the number of visitors.”
The growing demand tests the pantry’s new model each week, particularly on the first Tuesday of each month, when the pantry distributes vouchers for the purchase of perishable items at Hannaford and Yellowfront Grocery.
The first Tuesday of November, of course, was Election Day. Sixty-four people visited the pantry. “That probably represents 160 family members,” Schaaf said.
After the first Tuesday, the number of visitors drops to 40-50, but use of the pantry remains steady thereafter.
“We have as much as 30 people in line by 8:30 [a.m.],” Schaaf said. “As much as 75 percent” of traffic arrives in the first hour.
The pantry relies on six regular volunteers as well as rotating, four-person crews from area churches to gather and distribute food.
“We buy about half of our food,” Schaaf said. On Friday, volunteers pick up food from Yellowfront Grocery. On Monday and Tuesday, they visit Hannaford to take away expiring bakery and produce items. Back at the pantry, they unpack the shipments and pre-pack bags according to family size.
In addition to this altruistic labor force, “We’ve had a wonderful, wonderful contributor base,” Schaaf said. Financial contributions in recent years allowed the pantry to build a sizable reserve. Now, the reserve is dwindling at the rate of $5000-$10,000 a year.
“That’s not going to last forever, that’s for sure,” Schaaf said.
To donate, send cash to the Ecumenical Food Pantry at P.O. Box 46, Newcastle, 04553 or drop off food items at the Second Congregational Church. The pantry can pick up large donations if necessary.
The Ecumenical Food Pantry is open every Tuesday from 9-11 a.m.
