Crosswalk Community Outreach volunteers Joanna Moore, Dave Moore and Mike Ricci stand in one of the tiny sheds behind the Naples town office, where they operate a food pantry serving almost 120 area families every week. Demand increased during the government shutdown as clients faced uncertainty around SNAP benefits. Credit: Troy R. Bennett via The Maine Monitor

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Coming up for air after the food emergency sparked by the government shutdown, we wanted to express our gratitude to our Hancock County friends and neighbors who spontaneously stepped up to provide extra support to Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in a time of increased need and heightened uncertainty.

Special thanks are due to Provender Kitchen + Bar, Fogtown Brewing Company, Flexit Café, Conscious Café and Governor’s Restaurant, who generously prepared and provided food and prepared meals (a growing need) for our pantry shoppers; to state Sen. Nicole Grohoski, for bagging groceries and standing with neighbors in need; to the Ellsworth LDS church for donating a tractor-trailer load of nonperishables; to the Ellsworth schools for putting on food drives; and to the Rotary Club of Ellsworth, Hannaford and Shaw’s for coordinating the annual turkey drive on the pantry’s behalf.

Thanks are due, too, to the Ellsworth Public Library, the City of Ellsworth, and to the many, many individuals, businesses and community partners who donated food and, importantly, funds to support families in need.

We are moved by, and deeply grateful for, this ray of hope this amazing community has provided in difficult times.

Max Dietshe
The Loaves & Fishes
Board of Trustees
Trenton

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