Neither island residents nor their cats and dogs have to go hungry as Maine’s seasonal economy leaves them on the edge financially in long winters, a situation exacerbated in the past few years by the economic downturn. The good news is that when times are tough, most island and nearby mainland coastal communities have food pantries ready to extend a helping hand.
On Vinalhaven, food pantry volunteer Stephanie Mills says, “I can’t stand to see older people do without. They shouldn’t have to choose between medications and food.”
On another island, a single older islander, up against it financially, had already had the phone turned off and was on the verge of giving away a long-time and much-loved animal companion when Sharon Daley, telemedicine nurse on the Seacoast Mission’s Sunbeam, provided her with supplies from the Pet Food Pantry in Bar Harbor.
Food pantry personnel assert that children shouldn’t have to go hungry when their parents’ fortunes go south as summer work dries up, lobstering ends, and the cash flows slow to a trickle, or an injury piles on medical bills while preventing them from working. Then, too, as Mills points out, “Some people don’t have their priorities in the right order and the kids suffer.”
So far, food pantries, reliant on dedicated volunteers, have been created on Swan’s Island, Vinalhaven, North Haven, Peaks, Deer Isle and Islesboro. Sunbeam conveys food supplies when needed to smaller island communities, and the Swan’s Island food pantry, affiliated with the Seacoast Mission, serves Frenchboro, Isle au Haut and Matinicus. Daley says that usually a discreet island neighbor takes the food for the recipient in order to maintain confidentiality.
On North Haven, the old kitchen of the Union Church was transformed into the food pantry and on Islesboro, the Second Baptist Church offered space for one. Both pantries are set up like stores with donated non-perishables on shelves for users to select from. On Swan’s Island and Vinalhaven, volunteers break down trucked-in supplies into boxfuls for distribution and clients pick them up. Rev. Dave Macy on North Haven says, “We aren’t above a drive-by drop-off,” where a need has been identified.
Vinalhaven has had food assistance available since 1970 when Mills began providing government surplus food to the island. The operation expanded when Union Church offered a space. Now Mills turns to the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, Maine, and the USDA food surplus depot in Warren as needed. The island store also makes food available to the food pantry at a small charge over wholesale and gives Mills the opportunity to take advantage of sales.
On Swan’s Island, the Bread of Life Pantry, founded eight years ago by Ken Dutille and his wife, led to the Maine Seacoast Mission’s involvement in island food security. Dutille started Bread of Life when, he said, “We noticed there was a particular family really struggling. The husband was a hard worker, but they couldn’t seem to feed the children.” When the Swan’s Island store burned in 2005, National Public Radio featured the story and listeners from across the country sent donations. Dutille used some of the funds to purchase a fridge and a truck to fetch food from Good Shepherd Food Bank, then turned to Seacoast Mission to be the fiscal agent for the balance.
Rev. David Macy of the Baptist Church on North Haven says that he and his wife established their food bank a year ago when it was obvious some of the island’s younger residents were struggling. “We really want to make it possible for young people to stay on-island,” he said. Islesboro’s food bank was established in 2008 at the suggestion of a middle school student, Krystal Randlett, who talked with her Christian education teacher Sharon Dawbin about how some people were going to get through the winter in the economic downturn.
Generally, donations and fundraisers sufficiently support island food banks. Usually, when funds run low, a simple appeal yields cash donations. Summer people drop off unused grocery supplies when they close cottages at summer’s end. North Haven youngsters organized a food drive by charging two cans of food for admission to the first home game and Macy reported that a friendly competition between the Baptist and Episcopal Churches to see which could assemble the largest quantity of non-perishables, yielded a helpful supply. A dentist donated samples of toothpaste and mouthwash. On Swan’s Island, a fundraising potluck dinner, pie auction and dance help support the pantry. The town of Vinalhaven pays for Mills’ ferry ticket when she goes for supplies, and she receives matching funds from United Way and Good Shepherd, and a local bank makes a regular donation.
When Macy and his wife began the North Haven project, they brainstormed a list of foods they thought a young family might use: peanut butter, fruit cups, pasta, spaghetti sauce, flour, sugar, mac and cheese, instant oatmeal, juice and soup. Dutille says that canned goods and cereal are welcomed as is candy when it shows up. Dried beans are apparently slow to move, and many food pantry recipients don’t seem to know how to use them. Mills provided one with a recipe for baked beans and made a convert.
There is some provision for fresh produce and perishables like milk and eggs. Good Shepherd Food Bank makes some fresh food available, but Dutille and Mills both commented on what all islanders experience with the difficulty keeping food warm in winter and cold in summer during the long drives, ferry line waits and trips. Clients use gift certificates or, in Islesboro’s case, a donation-funded charge account at the local store to supplement the non-perishables. On Vinalhaven, the Arts and Recreation Center Café has a local foods section with a 10 percent markup on produce, with all funds going to support the food pantry and fresh fare as it is available.
All food pantries operate on the principle that if someone needs food, they are entitled to have some, no questions asked, no qualifications required. Most pantries get the word out by way of a local paper, posters, pastoral or healthcare provider reference, or word of mouth. Schools are alert to hungry youngsters, and networks of fuel or utilities assistance can help spread the word. About 30 families on Vinalhaven get a helping hand. Dutille reports that about 10 percent of Swan’s Island 320 people use the pantry. On North Haven so far, five or six families benefit.
Too often it is single elderly people coping with medical bills and costly medications and the families of seasonal workers who are at most risk for needing food assistance. Often, the assistance is a temporary measure while a family regroups. At other times, there are the chronically needy: severely disadvantaged, living in substandard shelter with only a hot plate to cook on and no refrigeration.
Dutille said, “99 percent of the time, people are hard workers and don’t take help unless they need it.” Some give back as they are able. Mills said that she has volunteers who take food only when they can pitch in on the work.
Food pantry recipients often say they feel lucky and blessed to live in a community that extends helping hands.
While eliminating the need for food pantries would be the ideal, in fact, most are looking for ways to strengthen their programs, in particular searching for ways to offer fresh fare. Dutille noted that some mainland food pantries have greenhouses, and building one may be on the Bread of Life’s docket. Until the economy generally turns around, islanders will continue to look after islanders by supporting food pantries with cash, food, and volunteer time.