FARMINGTON — Nine area food pantries received about $80,000 worth of food Wednesday as a Good Shepherd Food-Bank truck distributed food at the Mt. Blue Shopping Plaza.

The truck comes every three months, Judy Frost of Western Maine Community Action said after the delivery. Community Action programs across the state coordinate the allotments and distributions, she said.

A variety of foods, everything from raisins to salmon, juice, milk, corn flakes and beef stew came off the truck for pantry volunteers to retrieve.

Pickup trucks lined up around the roller for volunteers to retrieve their portion, Frost said.

Good Shepherd tells us what is available for food, she said. Allotment to each pantry is based on the number of households the pantry has served over the past three months, taken from the pantry’s monthly report indicating the number of people served. Each pantry’s allotment of the delivery is based on a percentage of that report, she said.

The food delivered Wednesday serves the greater Franklin County pantries as the Tri-Town Ministerial Food Pantry in Livermore Falls is part of us, she said. 

Other pantries served include Stratton, Rangeley, Salem’s United Methodist Economic Ministry, Phillips, Carthage, Industry, Wilton and the Care and Share Food Closet in Farmington, she said.

Each pantry serves surrounding towns.

There’s a bigger call for food by area pantries during the summer, when children are out of school, she said. Some of the smaller towns especially have more need, she said, and those pantries will see an increase in their allotment from the food distribution. 

Generally, it evens out over the year and the four annual distribution events, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com