Food pantry running low on resources
PHILLIPS – A small Phillips food pantry is struggling to feed the needy in three rural towns as layoffs at many local plants are putting more people out of work.
The high costs of heating and gasoline and the bitter cold in January have made buying groceries more of a challenge, pantry volunteer Marie Bubier said.
Bubier of Phillips along with her husband, Paul, have been on hand in the basement of the United Methodist Church in Phillips every Tuesday and Thursday since June to dole out what little food sits on the shelves of the pantry.
Elaine Romanoski of Avon is the organizer of the pantry, which serves Phillips, Avon and Madrid Township, but because of a family illness, she has had to step aside from day-to-day operations, though she still does much of the behind-the-scenes work.
Ninety-nine percent of the pantry’s food supply comes from government surplus. The remainder is donated locally.
Each month, the pantry supplies between 75 and 100 families with a seven-day emergency supply.
Lately though, Bubier said shelves at the food pantry have been as bare as those she usually serves.
“We’re way down. It’s never been this low,” she said. “I try to give people as much as they need, but with what I have here,” Bubier explains, gesturing toward nearly bare wooden shelves, “I can’t do much.”
With many area manufacturing plants, like Forster’s in Strong, Lauri Toys in Avon and H.G. Winter in Kingfield, closing down in the past year or expected to close soon, locals need the food supply now more than ever, said Bubier.
Each week, she sees a new face looking for food at the pantry, and says that’s a result of business closings and the higher cost of living in the area.
“People need what little money they do have for gas and heat,” she said sadly.
Romanoski pointed out, “It’s hard to survive here. Some families come twice a month, because there is no other way out for them.”
Romanoski is hoping those in the area who do have food stocked in their cupboards or an extra $5 in their wallet will donate to the food pantry.
Boxes of rice, pasta and macaroni are typically staples at the pantry. Not one box of any of those items is there now. “When we ran out of rice,” Bubier explained, “I realized we had hit rock bottom. I’ve never seen it down this low.”
Bubier said all she really has are dried fruit, some frozen items and cans of tomato sauce.
In fact, there are more clothes at the pantry than food items. Many locals donate old clothes and a sort of free clothes swap has unfolded. The Salvation Army’s Coats for Kids program also has weighted down hangers with thick winter jackets.
“We are getting to be more of a thrift store than a food pantry,” Bubier says, chuckling dejectedly.
The shortage makes her volunteer work emotionally tough at times, she said, but she is still happy to help. “There are days when it’s so rewarding and other days, it’s very frustrating,” she said, her eyes sweeping the room. “I can’t give away something I don’t have.”
To make a donation to the pantry, which is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday and Thursday in the United Methodist Church in Phillips, contact Romanoski at 639-2746 or Marie Bubier at 639-4666.
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