MEXICO — “We both work,” said a 37-year-old father of two as he picked up a monthly allotment of food from the GRAMPA Food Pantry at the Mexico Congregational Church.
“We’re working, but it’s not enough with so many things to pay for,” the man said. “The food pantry helps out a lot.”
The pantry is run by Sue Byam who has seen the need for its provisions grow during the past year or so. The need seems to be greater during the winter months, she said.
“We hope to benefit people who really need it,” she said. “We want to focus on people who have lost their jobs and don’t qualify for other assistance, and on the elderly who never ask.”
Another frequent user of the food bank is on Social Security and his wife is disabled.
“We are on a fixed income,” said the 62-year-old. “All we have is Social Security and (Supplemental Security Income) and they expect you to survive on $138 a month food stamps,” he said as he gathered canned goods, cereal and other items. “We get canned goods from here, then we just have to buy meat.”
He and many others bring reusable bags, which the operators of the food bank are encouraging.
“I feel there’s a lot more people out there who need help,” the retiree said.
Regular recipients can pick up food every 30 days. They usually take only what they need, volunteers Sue Clark and Peggy Cannon said.
“What they won’t use, they won’t take,” Clark said.
Arlene Thibeau, a food pantry volunteer for nine years, said it’s rewarding to help people.
“I get choked up,” she said, “when you have a man who said he has worked all his life but now has to ask for food.”
In Rumford, Justin Thacker, pastor of Praise Assembly of God Church, said his church has operated a food bank since 2003, but he hasn’t seen anything like this year.
Many middle-class and low-income families are in need because of unemployment, he said.
He has seen the use of the church food bank go from about 10 families last year to 45 or so this year. The highest percentage of users are single mothers with children, he said. Seniors usually have a case worker, or a family member will call.
The Rumford and Mexico food banks often work together, he said, exchanging food that each may need.
At the Dixfield Common Baptist Church food bank, the Rev. Ken Hinkley said the number of participants has increased by 25 percent this year. He said his congregation donates to the food bank each month. The Dixfield food bank serves Dixfield, East Dixfield and occasionally, Carthage. The Carthage Town Office keeps some food on hand, he said.
Linda Hinkley, manager of the Dixfield food bank, said the increase is due to lost jobs and people unable to pay all of their bills. Senior citizens don’t usually ask, she said, except sometimes when federal food commodities come in, which happens quarterly.
Linda Couture, director of the Andover Food Bank that is housed in the Congregational Church, has also seen an upsurge in need.
“We served 40 families this year, much more than last year,” she said.
The River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition, in partnership with the Cooperative Extension in South Paris started another source of food for those in need in the spring with a federal Commodities Surplus Food Program.
The program is directed at people age 60 and older, said Sandy Witas, administrative assistant for the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition. The River Valley site provides 30 pounds of food to 40 people each month. They have 50 people on the waiting list. In the South Paris office, about 100 people are served, and another 100 are waiting.
In addition to handing out food, Witas provides workshops and informational sheets on how to prepare some of the food and fresh vegetables that are grown in the extension gardens or donated by local gardeners.
Most, but not all, food banks receive supplies from the Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn, as well as from organizations, food drives, churches and monetary contributions.
Many food banks, such as Mexico’s, Rumford’s and Dixfield’s, hold regular hours, while others, such as in Canton, Fryeburg and Bethel, open on an as-needed or appointment-only basis.
“The need is there. Oxford County is a mess,” Witas said. “Hunger looks different now. Anyone could be hungry.”
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- Karen Ellis, Sue Byam and Sue Clark pack about 30 Thanksgiving family dinners in reusable bags Friday afternoon at the Congregational Church in Mexico. The food is from the church’s GRAMPA Food Pantry. The meals include a turkey, pie crusts and filling, locally grown potatoes and squash, canned vegetables, stuffing and gravy.
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- GRAMPA Food Pantry volunteers Sue Clark and Peggy Cannon stock shelves in the Mexico Congregational Church distribution center.
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- Winter squashes, purchased or donated by a local farmer, are supplying lots of nutrition to the recipients of the Commodities Surplus Food Program offered by the Extension Service and the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition in Rumford.
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