FARMINGTON, Maine — Some of the shelves are bare at the Care and Share Food Closet.
The number of people served has increased, and there’s less money to purchase food items, food closet co-chairwoman Carolyn McLaughlin explained.
“The food flies off the shelves,” she said, noting the nearly 700 people, up from the usual 600, served this month. “We haven’t had items like juice on the shelves for a long time.”
The challenge, one that keeps McLaughlin awake at night, increased with recent news that local food closets would not receive annual funding through a Federal Emergency Management Agency program geared to help emergency food and shelter programs.
The reason is because Franklin County, along with Oxford County, didn’t meet the program’s requirements for unemployment and poverty, according to the most recent census.
“Franklin County is not poverty-stricken enough,” McLaughlin said.
The criteria for applicants requires the county to have 300 or more unemployed and either a 10.7 percent rate of unemployment or a 15.8 percent poverty rate, said Lisa Laflin, executive director of the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, which administers the program.
Franklin County’s poverty rate was just three-tenths off. From May 2011 to April 2012, the time period considered, Franklin County had 9.4 percent unemployment and a 15.5 poverty rate, she said.
“The criteria significantly increased from the previous year, which really says our country and various communities and counties are suffering. There are limited funds and real hardships,” she said.
Franklin has normally received about $20,000 through the application process.
Over the past year, funding was cut by 41 percent, providing just $12,700. After showing the need here, an additional grant of $10,000 was received in June, she said.
The two counties will receive nothing for the next annual phase of funding.
Of the 10 food closets in Franklin County, nine apply and receive funds as decided by a separate board organized by the United Way. The amounts are determined by a formula based on numbers served.
The FEMA funds, along with an October appeal for donations, provide the bulk of funding to purchase food for the Share and Care Food Closet, McLaughlin said.
Care and Share normally receives about $5,000, McLaughlin said.
In Oxford County, 12 programs, including food pantries, meal sites and homeless shelters, receive help from this funding, Dennis Gray, executive director of the Oxford County United Way, said.
“It’s always in the $20,000 and up range,” he said. “This is the first time in 20 years that we haven’t been funded.”
The United Way has no intention of letting the matter drop, Laflin said. She’s communicating with other United Ways in Maine and meeting with a representative from the Maine Hunger Initiative on Monday.
She knows there’s a real need to advocate, especially for a portion of the program funds given to the state.
Advocacy is needed, but it’s not enough. The community and churches need to work together instead of separately, she said.
“Just think of the power we’d have working together to help people in need,” she said, remembering the theme of this year’s United Way annual appeal: “Feed the Need.”
The Oxford board is meeting soon and will discuss plans for dealing with the loss of funding, Gray said.
Oxford has a casino now. All the poor have to do is go place a bet and they can “earn” enough to buy groceries. Problem solved.
Must be Bush’s fault.
LOL.
Actually Bush and the GOP are in fact responsible for the current economic malaise. So now, as is once again made clear by this story, the GOP seeks to remove all economic safety nets, enforce wages of poverty, and when you get too old to work they just want you to go home (if you still have one) and die without social security or medicare. Nice huh?
This made no sense to me. Can you support your comments with facts? The economic times are a result of both parties not just one. The liberals by paying for all of this and the conservatives for not wanting to pay for all of this. When it was realized that it was Bush’s fault why hasn’t anything been done to correct it? We need our politicians to grow up and start taking care of this country. All 535 of them as this is where the responibilty lies.
Actually it’s our responsibility to feed our friends and neighbors. Have you donated food to your local food pantry lately?
Yes actually, I have.
Yep…the gop wants granny to die, kids to starve water to
turn green….and you believe this?
If you actually believe what you wrote above, I feel sorry for you. It’s a shame to see anyone so detached from reality.
Not only do I believe what I said, I believe I made my point quite moderately, understated actually. The GOP wants a return to a feudal society. Their actions have made this clear time and time again. If you do not think so then you are obviously under the influence of their deceptive campaign of misinformation. Just look at the goals, the actions, and the type of people who support GOP doctrine. I truly believe this next election will be a mandate on the kind of country we will live in over the next few decades. Will we allow our country to be usurped by greed and avarice? Or will the United States be a country by and for the people of America, all the people of America.
….. and because people can medically insure their adult children until they are 26 no one under 27 should be getting any kind of State-Aid.
What does that have to do with the food bank?
Is the insurance company sending out food rations now?
The parents should be supporting them if they can insure them. They shouldn’t be getting free food from the food banks
Maybe they should, maybe less people would be obese. Oh, I take that back, when a hospital providing food that is covered by insurance if feeding people nothing but fatty proteins and carbs, how can we be surprised most people are obese and diabetes is a bigger problem? We need more vitamins and minerals to process the protein, and too many carbs also gets stored as fat.
What about a diabetic orphan who turns 19? If LePages plan to drop Medicare goes through?
How about the person who worked for 40 years , and has cancer but can’t afford meds and made $38.00 (thats thirty-eight dollars) too much last year to get one stinking dime of the taxes they’ve paid in for 40 years to help when they need it this year?
Your diabetic example can work and if they are an orphan then they don’t have parents paying for their insurance so that sort of doesn’t include them wouldn’t you think….
I have at times been in the situation where I made too much to get any assistance, just barely, but not enough to make it. It seems that the county should still qualify if there is that level of need.
Where are the jobs Gov’ner?
All i am gonna say is this. When you consider all of the food wasted and thrown away in this country, its completely disgusting to hear that people are going hungry. This should never happen in the United States.
They need a sliding scale funding approach, counties with marginal need would get limited funding and counties with the greatest need would get the most funding. For now, all we can do is make donations to the food pantries. Come on folks, open your food pantries and your wallets to the hungry people in this state.
I agree with the sliding scale, but there is a problem.
Those slightly below the line would receive less. But, what is happening is those just above the line need help too, and they are often seeing those with pennies below them have a better standard of living causing resentment, and encouraging people to stay pennies below the line.
A sliding scale would encourage people to work more to receive more or have a better standard of living.
Is the federal funding the same for all states? If so, I think the formula should be revised. People in Florida will never reach temperatures below freezing, and there is an ocean to jump into to cool off. People in Maine need more to survive the winter, and oil prices are at an all time high.
Southern state R’s like Rand Paul and Jim DeMint have tried to punish the Yankees.Keep in mind they still celebrate Jeff Davis’ birthday.Yet when FL has hurricanes they don’t ask us if we want to give them $$.
Of course the Feds say region not poor enough for aid …………………………. have to have those extra $BILLIONS to send overseas, especially to countries that would just as soon destroy this country but still want OUR money.