By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
SOMERSWORTH—
In the month of October the Community Food Pantry provided about 12,000 meals to families in Somersworth and Rollinsford, N.H., and Berwick, Maine.
What the pantry does for those who qualify is to provide enough food for three meals a day for five days when they visit the distribution center in the basement of First Parish United Church of Christ at 176 West High St.
That’s the norm for the pantry but during this holiday season there’s a little extra work done by a multitude of people with the support of the local community.
Just last Saturday the pantry provided its version of Thanksgiving Baskets, as more than 275 families filed through the line to collect a turkey and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner.
The pantry has no paid staff, according to Tom Brown, who with his wife, Diane, serve as co-directors of the pantry. Over 60 volunteers do the work, he said, and they, along with what he terms tremendous community support, make it all happen.
Although hosted by the First Parish United Church of Christ, the pantry is nondenominational and supported by six area churches. These include the host church, the Berwick United Methodist, Dormition of the Virgin Mary, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and Our Lady of the Angels.
According to the pantry’s history, it was started at the invitation of Rev. Mark Rideout of First Parish to allow the area churches to join in an effort to relieve hunger and to consolidate the services of each of those churches.
This action was started in 1991. Each participating church is represented on the Board of Directors, and each church provides volunteers and food.
Mr. Brown said a pantry was rotating between the churches until The Rev. Mr. Rideout “brought people together and pooled their resources,” forming the current version of the pantry.
Originally “if we got 60 families a month we were doing good,” Mr. Brown said, but there has been a steady increase over the years.
There are 275 regulars now, Brown said, and that includes an increase of 20 percent a year in each of the last two years.
Recently, he said, there has also been a change in the type of people using the service. There are now some self-employed and contractors included. “That was not the norm in the past,” he said.
Due to the growth of the pantry, the space generously allowed by the church is becoming inadequate.
Mr. Brown continually spoke of the community support and how important it was from communities in both Maine and New Hampshire. Due to a lack of storage area at First Parish, the pantry has turned to the housing authority that has allowed space in the Old Queensbury Mill building.
Mr. Brown said the pantry is looking for larger quarters in the near future.
According to its web site the Community Food Pantry serves canned, frozen, dry and ready-to-serve foods for a variety of meals that are planned to provide enough meals for five days.
It also provides extras that help stretch the food supply over the month as those items become available. Most of the food is donated.
The pantry does receive items from USDA foods and also orders from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine. The foods from Good Shepherd have a very small maintenance fee of 16 cents a pound. This food must be transported from Alfred, Maine.
In addition, the pantry receives food monthly from the Food Rescue Program in Sanford, Maine. This food is provided at no cost.
The pantry also receives bread and pastries from Shaw's and Hannaford Supermarkets of Dover, and baked beans and other goodies from B & M in Portland, Maine.
The pantry uses USDA guidelines for eligibility to use the pantry. Brown said there is some extra paper work to do because of the operation in two states.
Community groups in all three towns are active in helping the pantry stay stocked with sufficient food to do its job. Students in the Somersworth Youth Connection at Somersworth Middle School provided the equivalent of three Thanksgiving baskets for the pantry and scouts from the communities also collect food.
The pantry is open Monday from 10 a.m. until noon, Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m.
Information is available by calling the pantry at (603) 692-2907 or the church at (603) 692-2057.
Photo caption: Volunteers at the Community Food Pantry filled boxes of food to be distributed for Thanksgiving in the basement of the First Parish Church of Christ in Somersworth. The group included, left to right, Lorraine Couture, Lu Bachelder, Helen Garneau and Carol Cavanaugh. (Larry Favinger photo)
In the month of October the Community Food Pantry provided about 12,000 meals to families in Somersworth and Rollinsford, N.H., and Berwick, Maine.
What the pantry does for those who qualify is to provide enough food for three meals a day for five days when they visit the distribution center in the basement of First Parish United Church of Christ at 176 West High St.
That’s the norm for the pantry but during this holiday season there’s a little extra work done by a multitude of people with the support of the local community.
Just last Saturday the pantry provided its version of Thanksgiving Baskets, as more than 275 families filed through the line to collect a turkey and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner.
The pantry has no paid staff, according to Tom Brown, who with his wife, Diane, serve as co-directors of the pantry. Over 60 volunteers do the work, he said, and they, along with what he terms tremendous community support, make it all happen.
Although hosted by the First Parish United Church of Christ, the pantry is nondenominational and supported by six area churches. These include the host church, the Berwick United Methodist, Dormition of the Virgin Mary, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and Our Lady of the Angels.
According to the pantry’s history, it was started at the invitation of Rev. Mark Rideout of First Parish to allow the area churches to join in an effort to relieve hunger and to consolidate the services of each of those churches.
This action was started in 1991. Each participating church is represented on the Board of Directors, and each church provides volunteers and food.
Mr. Brown said a pantry was rotating between the churches until The Rev. Mr. Rideout “brought people together and pooled their resources,” forming the current version of the pantry.
Originally “if we got 60 families a month we were doing good,” Mr. Brown said, but there has been a steady increase over the years.
There are 275 regulars now, Brown said, and that includes an increase of 20 percent a year in each of the last two years.
Recently, he said, there has also been a change in the type of people using the service. There are now some self-employed and contractors included. “That was not the norm in the past,” he said.
Due to the growth of the pantry, the space generously allowed by the church is becoming inadequate.
Mr. Brown continually spoke of the community support and how important it was from communities in both Maine and New Hampshire. Due to a lack of storage area at First Parish, the pantry has turned to the housing authority that has allowed space in the Old Queensbury Mill building.
Mr. Brown said the pantry is looking for larger quarters in the near future.
According to its web site the Community Food Pantry serves canned, frozen, dry and ready-to-serve foods for a variety of meals that are planned to provide enough meals for five days.
It also provides extras that help stretch the food supply over the month as those items become available. Most of the food is donated.
The pantry does receive items from USDA foods and also orders from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine. The foods from Good Shepherd have a very small maintenance fee of 16 cents a pound. This food must be transported from Alfred, Maine.
In addition, the pantry receives food monthly from the Food Rescue Program in Sanford, Maine. This food is provided at no cost.
The pantry also receives bread and pastries from Shaw's and Hannaford Supermarkets of Dover, and baked beans and other goodies from B & M in Portland, Maine.
The pantry uses USDA guidelines for eligibility to use the pantry. Brown said there is some extra paper work to do because of the operation in two states.
Community groups in all three towns are active in helping the pantry stay stocked with sufficient food to do its job. Students in the Somersworth Youth Connection at Somersworth Middle School provided the equivalent of three Thanksgiving baskets for the pantry and scouts from the communities also collect food.
The pantry is open Monday from 10 a.m. until noon, Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m.
Information is available by calling the pantry at (603) 692-2907 or the church at (603) 692-2057.
Photo caption: Volunteers at the Community Food Pantry filled boxes of food to be distributed for Thanksgiving in the basement of the First Parish Church of Christ in Somersworth. The group included, left to right, Lorraine Couture, Lu Bachelder, Helen Garneau and Carol Cavanaugh. (Larry Favinger photo)
