SANFORD — At first glance, York County Food Rescue appears to be in pretty good shape, with pallets of non-perishable food stacked around the warehouse in the old Jagger Mill.
Look closely, however, and you’ll see gaps in the stacks and wall space where there used to be cases and cases of food.
After Tuesday, when pantries pick up their allotments, the warehouse will look pretty bare, said Director Jodi Bissonnette, and it will be slow to refill.
Food donations from corporations and individuals are down this year and demand has skyrocketed, said Bissonnette. And, she added, the amount of food the agency receives through the federal surplus commodities program isn’t as robust as it used to be.
“We used to pick up 22 pallets every two months,” said Bissonnette. “Now we get 18 to 20 pallets every three months.”
Even as food and financial donations are down, demand is up, way up, she said. There are hungry people in York County and the hunger is making its way to the middle class. In fact, Bissonnette is convinced there isn’t a middle class anymore.
“I’ve never seen it so bad and I truly believe it will get worse before it gets better,” said Bissonnette, who has been working in food rescue programs for 13 years. She said the pantries that York County Food Rescue serves are reporting to her that their demand is up by as much as 40 percent.
Joan Sylvester of York County Shelter Programs Inc., said the shelter’s food pantry is seeing new faces every day, and some are folks who donated to the pantry three years ago. On Thursday, 70 families picked up food and about 60 families did so on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“That’ s a lot of households,” Sylvester said.
The Lyman Dayton Food Pantry serves anywhere from 58 to 72 families a month, said Director Linda McLaren, and “food donations are down drastically.”
At Stone Soup Food Pantry in Biddeford, Co-chairman Kathy Duke said in August, 561 families sought food assistance ”“ up from an average of 425 to 480 most months ”“ but donations of food and money are lagging.
“People who used to give are worried about themselves, as well they should be,” said Duke. “It is not because people are deciding not to give, it is because they can’t.”
At Sanford Food Pantry, Carol Cail said the numbers of families looking for food is up and the back-up supply of food is dwindling.
In August, 127 families were helped including 27 new families; in July, 88 were helped, including 11 new families; and in June, 93 families received food, including 20 new families.
The picture is somewhat brighter at St. Matthews Food Pantry in Limerick, where Vincent Kane said there’s been a dip from 60 to 70 families seeking help to 40 for the past couple of months. But winter is approaching and he said he expects the numbers to rebound.
The pantries that receive food from York County Food Rescue are located in cities and towns from Kittery to Kezar Falls. Bissonnette said the pantries used to receive about 1,600 pounds of food per month from the rescue. Now, the program is giving 300 to 400 pounds less.
“This is not good,” she said, and pointed out that the holidays, when demand surges, are just weeks away.
York County Food rescue was formed three years ago after a prior program based in Cumberland County re-examined their resources and decided to concentrate their efforts there.
The food rescue program relies for the most part on food from corporations, federal commodities and food drives. The agency used to schedule food drives outside supermarkets and at other venues once every couple of months. Now, they’re being scheduled at least once a month, and sometimes more.
And even donations there are down.
“People who used to give a bag give one or two cans and apologize for not giving more,” Bissonnette said. A small fund to buy food to supplement donations has already been spent, she said.
She and Duke agreed that corporations that used to be more generous with their surplus foods are selling it instead on the secondary market ”“ in dollar stores and other venues.
Bissonnette and the others say they’ll forge ahead with their task of feeding York County’s hungry residents and are hoping people will dig deep.
York County Food Rescue will host a food drive at Shaw’s in Sanford Oct. 1 and throughout October, there is a food drive at Smitty’s Cinema in Biddeford. Those who see a movie will get free popcorn if they bring non-perishable food items. For more information about York County Food Rescue, Bissonnette may be reached at 206-2812.
Duke, who said her parents lived through the Great Depression, said she never thought she’d see such a surge in need in her lifetime.
“I do a lot of praying,” she said.
— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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