FARMINGTON – The Care and Share Food Closet will be closed for six weeks, maybe longer, while renovations are completed on the Fairbanks School Meeting House.

Carolyn McLaughlin, who organizes volunteers, is hopeful the work can be completed before the end of February and not drag into March, she said Thursday.

“Now is … not a good time,” she said.

The food closet’s landlord, the Fairbanks School Neighborhood Association, planned work on the main floor so the food closet can finish out December. The food closet has its own entrance in the building.

People who regularly visit the food closet are being given food for January and February along with December’s allocation, she said.

The closet is seen as an emergency service, and families are able to obtain three to five days of food within every 30 day period, she said.

“Normally, we serve 150 families a month, but in the last 10 days, it’s been 112. As they hear that we are going to be closed, they’ve been lined up right out the door,” she said.

With people also facing extra expense for winter heat, food closet volunteers have a backup plan for those in need during the next two months or those who didn’t get their two months’ supply, she said. More than 250 boxes of prepacked food will be stored at the Fairbanks Union Church. The Rev. Scott Planting agreed to see that it gets distributed, she said. The church office is open weekdays.

Meanwhile, McLaughlin is organizing extra manpower for the move as well as to handle the longer waiting line being seen this week.

The local food closets are emergency food systems providing for short periods of time. Johnnie Buchanan from Western Maine Community Action said other options available for people who need assistance include food stamps, with eligibility based on income. According to guidelines, she added, a household of two is eligible with an income of $20,000 or less; a family of four is eligible with an income of $30,975.