Area food pantries have been busier than usual this month, but workers say it has more to do with people’s everyday needs than the Thanksgiving holiday.

The South Portland Food Cupboard, operated in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church on Route 1, helped 205 people in November, the highest monthly count in the history of the pantry, according to Director Sybil Riemensnider.

While a smaller operation, the Scarborough Food Pantry also has been busy over the past few weeks, according to Director Norma Coughlin.

“This week we have seen 18 families,” she said. “This was a big week; most of us are beat.”

That is a lot for the group of five volunteers along with a couple of substitutes who operate out of the Parish House kitchen at the First Congregational Church on Black Point Road in Scarborough, using a few of its cupboards and storage space.

“We can’t really handle that many more people,” Coughlin said, adding that on average some 45 to 50 families from area towns visit the pantry each month.

Neither Coughlin nor Riemensnider can explain why their pantries have been so busy, but the onset of winter may be one reason. Business usually drops off at the Scarborough Food Pantry during the holidays because other organizations are taking a more active role in helping the less fortunate.

The South Portland Food Cupboard, which is run by an all-volunteer group of 35 people, does not normally see a large spike in visits during the holidays, but is fully prepared for both Thanksgiving and Christmas with turkeys and even toys for children. Last year the organization served 4,440 individuals with 113,000 meals.

The pantries primarily provide food to elderly people whose Social Security checks no longer go as far as they used to. However, there also many working poor and others who are simply having trouble making ends meet.

“Some of them have been so grateful because they can’t afford to go out and buy this,” Riemensnider said.

One customer at the Scarborough Food Pantry Tuesday morning said the food pantry helps her and her daughter get by during the month.

“When I do come here it’s such a blessing,” said the 47-year-old Scarborough woman. “This place has really helped. This gets me through. Without this place my daughter would have gone hungry.”

Both pantries offer food to visitors once a month, but do not turn people away either. The food they give away comes from a variety of sources, including the federal government, local businesses, and through community donations of food and money.

Riemensnider, who has a much larger pantry area and numerous freezers and refrigerators, prides herself on the pantry’s offering.

“When people go out of here they get a lot of healthy food,” Riemensnider said.

But even community generosity has its limits and by March the pantry shelves are running a bit empty, leaving Coughlin to rely on church members to donate some money and food. Coughlin also will periodically receive checks from various community organizations that she will use to purchase food.

“We have always depended on the community for food as well as the government, but if you depend on the government you won’t get too much or the variety,” Coughlin said.

They also treat the customers with respect and dignity and have even developed relationships with the regulars.

“We are interested in having these people come, talk about their grandchildren; we treat them as guests in our home,” Coughlin said.

Generally, the food distributed at the pantry is non-perishable, but on occasion there are fresh products. Last summer the Cape Elizabeth Community Garden gave the pantry 500 pounds of fresh vegetables and other people just stop by and drop off other fresh produce. The Jordan Farm has provided many fresh fruits and vegetables to the South Portland Food Cupboard.

“People were overjoyed to get them,” Coughlin said.

Other popular items at the pantry are coffee and tea, Coughlin, who purchases all of the pantry’s food after her own grocery shopping, decided to purchase some coffee from some money donated by a church member.

“You don’t know how many people say ‘I haven’t had coffee in a week,'” she said.

The money has since run out, but Coughlin has decided to use the pantry’s general fund to continue purchasing coffee.

“It was just something that pleased people so much,” she said.

Mary Lou Hayes, a volunteer for the South Portland Food Cupboard and director Sybil Riemensnider

Copy the Story Link