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Demand is up for food help
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BY SCOTT MONROE
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 08/11/2008

BY SCOTT MONROE

Staff Writer

Many new faces, bigger families, and fewer resources to help out.

Organizers and volunteers of central Maine food pantries and soup kitchens say that's what they're seeing. They say the high cost of food products, plus higher-than-ever expenses for gasoline and home-heating oil, are squeezing their ability to deliver free nourishment to the poor.

And it's only summer. They uniformly worry about what will happen this winter when high home-heating bills slam people who are struggling to make ends meet.

"We're getting a lot more families. Last month, we had 14 new families, this month seven or 10. It is unusual, especially this time of year," said Nancy Marcoux of the Fairfield Interfaith Food Pantry.

Demand is up and growing, Marcoux said, and "we're just trying to keep our shelves stocked as well as we can because we know we're going to be bombarded. I think we'll have a lot of new working people" this winter.

Food pantries in central Maine obtain food and household items from several sources. Some receive community donations and supplies from area food banks, while others purchase foods at local supermarkets and through wholesale food suppliers.

The Maine Department of Agriculture Food and Rural Resources oversees The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a federal initiative that provides commodities to about 260 voluntary feeding programs in Maine.

Last year, 208,798 meals were served in the soup kitchens and food pantries of Somerset and Kennebec counties that participated in the The Emergency Food Assistance Program. That meant 52,302 people from 17,878 households received free food.

So far this year, more than 200,000 meals have been served at soup kitchens and 40,000 people have been served at 41 participating food banks and soup kitchens.

Fewer federal dollars

Randy Mraz, director of the emergency food program in Maine, said there's been less money from the federal government in recent years to distribute food. The Maine program has received up to $2.1 million, he said, but last year it reached a low of $350,000.

Mraz thinks funding will be higher this year under the federal Farm Bill, and Mainers will need it.

"This summer it's really hard, especially with high gas prices," Mraz said. "We've seen less food supply and more people needing assistance. A dollar doesn't buy what it used to."

That's especially true when it comes to staple food products. For instance, a tractor-trailer load of macaroni cost the emergency food program $15,000 in 2007 and costs $33,000 this year, Mraz said. A load of green beans cost $13,415 last year and it's $18,011 this year, he said.

This Poverty in Maine Update newsletter, created by the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine, says that statewide, in 2006-2007, more than 83,000 households (16 percent of the state total) received food stamps. A household cannot have more than $2,000 in resources to qualify for food stamps.

"For people on food stamps, it doesn't ever keep up with what the actual cost of food is," said Jeanne Davis, volunteer and secretary of board of directors for the Augusta Food Bank.

The Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen in Waterville is feeling the pinch, says organizer Dick Willette. He estimates that charitable contributions to the soup kitchen have plummeted because everybody is short on money.

Willete says the soup kitchen sees new faces everyday and many are children.

"You better believe we're scratching; we have expenses, not only on the food, but you just take propane gas for ovens and stoves and we have a truck that goes to pick up the food," Willette said. "So far, we're not completely broke yet; we're still surviving, but we certainly don't have any extra. The squeeze is on, there's no question."

The Augusta Food Bank "hasn't been able to keep all the variety on the shelf that we'd like to," Davis said, but "quantity-wise, we're doing pretty well."

Wanda Steward, food bank coordinator for the Kennebec Valley Community Assistance Program, monitors the disbursement of food from the federal emergency program to food banks. She's "a little concerned about the supplies we have."

"We have a good compliment of donations from lots of area churches, from the United Way, other charities. Right now, we're doing fairly well, but we have ups and downs," she said. "It's quite noticeable when there's a food drive in the community; it fills out our shelves with things we're not able to purchase."

Preparing for winter

Central Maine food pantries are stocking up, if they can, for the winter and looking for deals wherever they can. Many rely on community food and donation drives, and those will be increasingly important this winter.

The Pittsfield Food Pantry serves about 350 people a month, said Earl Dean, who's been the pantry's organizer for 26 years, and "we're going through a lot of food."

"I anticipated a bad winter. Food is going to be scarce, so I've been preparing; I can see it on the wall," Dean said.

Sacred Heart Soup Kitchen looks for food deals constantly. For instance, Willette says, the soup kitchen has a deal with one of its small vendors to purchase all needed condiments such as eggs, potatoes, sugar and salt and, in return, "we haven't paid for a gallon of milk since we've been operating for 28 years," Willette said. "It's people like that that keep us going, but it's tightening," he said.

The Fairfield Interfaith Food Pantry receives assistance from the Kennebec County Sheriff's Department, says community services officer John Matthews. Under the program, incarcerated inmates harvest potatoes and mixed vegetables on about 8 acres of fields in Augusta and Benton. The program, started by Sheriff Randy Liberty, yields fresh produce for the Fairfield food pantry and others, Matthews said.

"It's definitely a call of the times with what's going on right now," Matthews said.

"That's providing food for the pantry, and a lot of our clients have gardens to help themselves. You got to what you got to do to exist," said Marcoux, of the Fairfield food pantry.

Stocking up now

Tri-Town Food Cupboard in Hartland has looked to stay afloat through grants as well, including $1,800 this year from the United Way, said Pat Martin, the food cupboard's purchasing agent. The food cupboard also recently received a freezer from the Good Shepherd Food-Bank, which has locations in Auburn and Brewer.

"Now, I'm able to buy more frozen meats to have to handout and I try to keep plenty of canned fruits, which are hard to come by, and vegetables and meat, pasta products -- things that will stretch and make good meals," Martin said.

What about stocking up on more food than usual now? Absolutely, said Davis, of the Augusta food pantry, but only if the food pantry has the means.

"We have enough funding so we can do that if we have the opportunity and take advantage of sales," she said.

"But that opportunity is also beginning to disappear."

Mraz, of The Emergency Food Assistance Program, advises local food pantries and soup kitchens to shop around often for deals and use their resources wisely.

"I think this winter is still going to be a relatively hard winter," Mraz said. "At state level, we will have more food than we had last year, but I think the demand will be greater as well."

Scott Monroe -- 861-9253, Ext. 253

smonroe@centralmaine.com

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