The past few weeks have been busy at the Boothbay Region Food Pantry. The number of people using the pantry continues to increase and we have been actively seeking funds for the growing needs of our community as SNAP cuts go into effect. Increased funding is also necessary because cuts to the USDA program seriously reduced the supply of free food that we were able to obtain, and inflation has made everything that we must buy more expensive. We are very grateful for the support of the Dawes Foundation and another generous foundation. Most recently, Town Fair Tires, a faithful source of funding for several years, gave us an additional grant. Also, during the summer months we have continued to receive beautiful produce from Twin Villages Foodbank Farm and Veggies to Table. The hard work on both of these farms provides a wonderful nutritional benefit for our neighbors. 

This past week we were alarmed to learn of a dangerous scam affecting our clients. There are some sophisticated thieves out there who are accessing people’s SNAP accounts. The result is that when a person goes to buy food using the SNAP funds that should be available, they find nothing in their account. We intend to post some information on the Food Pantry’s Facebook page about how our clients can change their passwords to prevent this happening to them. They will also be able to find information as to how to create and save a good password, something that is stronger and not used for any other account, which should make it impossible for their SNAP accounts to be vulnerable to these online thieves. 

In addition to the grants that we have recently received, we also have been heartened by the response of this generous community. Compared to last year at this time our donations are up by 30%. Future events include one on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 9 to 11 a.m., when regional Colby alumni and volunteers and staff of Boothbay Region YMCA will be sponsoring a Fill the Bus drive to collect some of the much-needed staples that our clients count on receiving at their monthly visit to the pantry. Additionally, many members of the community have found that our new website makes it easy to donate to BRFP and we have now added an option that makes it possible to create recurring donations. This sort of regular donation, large or small, will help ensure that the Food Pantry can continue to provide much-needed help in these times of inflation and benefit cuts. We count on our community to continue coming through for their neighbors.