Imagine that you are able every month to pay your bills for rent, heat, light, and telephone, but usually, especially in Maine’s cold winter months, you barely scrape by. If the car breaks down, if you or one of the children gets sick, or if you would like to buy a few holiday gifts for the family, your precarious grip on household finances begins to loosen or collapses altogether.

Fortunately, the Boothbay Region Food Pantry is able to take away some of the misery experienced by many in our community by offering a good measure of food security each month to all of our neighbors. We provide a generous monthly distribution of nutritious food to needy families, taking into account both family size and specific needs and preferences of all our clients. In addition, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah boxes filled to the brim with food for a special family meal are distributed to all who sign up to receive them.

Recently, while loading up a cart at Hannaford with food for the pantry, co-president Tom Wilson was asked by another customer why in the world he needed all that food. Tom’s reply resulted in a generous cash donation! In addition to such gifts from local individuals and families in November, the pantry is grateful to our YMCA for its annual Turkey Trot and Fill the Bus events, each of which produced generous support. McSeagull’s Restaurant again this year gave the pantry the donations received during its annual free Thanksgiving Dinner. Romee May kindly gave the pantry the receipts from her Thanksgiving morning yoga class, as she has done for several years, and the region’s Mah Jongg players again this year designated the food pantry as the lucky beneficiary of funds collected in 2016.

The Boothbay Region Food Pantry plays a significant role in our community, and it has been able to do so for some 48 years because of the often-astounding level of generosity shown by local and seasonal residents and by local businesses and nonprofits. As you consider end-of-year contributions to worthy causes, please set aside a generous donation for your local food pantry. Checks may be mailed to the Boothbay Region Food Pantry at P.O. Box 63, East Boothbay, ME 04544. In-kind gifts of nutritious food in boxes or cans also are welcome, so long as they are within or not far beyond their sell-by date. They may be left inside the pantry, which is located at the lower level of the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, or outside in the container near the pantry door.

Information for clients

The Boothbay Region Food Pantry is located in the lower level of the Congregational Church at 125 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor. It serves residents in the towns of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb. It is open every Friday from noon to 2 p.m. and is accessible to people in wheelchairs. The food pantry is also open on the second Monday of each month from 4:30 to 6 p.m. If local schools are closed because of weather conditions, the pantry also is closed.

If you have a food emergency, call the food pantry at: 350-2962. New clients should provide proof of residency, such as your car registration, a recent utility bill, lease, or rent receipt. Clients should bring their own bags and boxes.

If you have signed up to receive a special holiday box of food tailored to your family’s size, be sure to pick it up on Saturday, Dec. 17 between 10 a.m. and noon. The food pantry will be open as usual on Friday, Dec. 23.