Bethel Area Food Pantry Director Executive Director Dave Bean on March 19, 2025. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen

BETHEL— Bethel Area District Exchange and Food Pantry (BADE&FP) Executive Director Dave Bean answered questions about the impact on the pantry’s “neighbors” with the cancellation of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Federal Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program. Bean has been at the food pantry since 2004, and managed its move to its current location at 279 Walkers Mills Road/Route 26 in Bethel. Mary McVey directs The Food Pantry; the attached clothing district is operated by Maryvonne Wheeler.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled the Local Food Purchasing Assistance program that would have provided $1.25 million to Maine. Can you break down how it worked at the Bethel Area Food Pantry?

All this funding is indirect. Good Shepherd Food Bank (GSFB) is basically the largest supplier of BADE&FP is not directly federally funded, but we  rely on and are impacted by federal programs such as TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), LFPA (Local Food Purchase Assistance Program), and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). These programs help supply food to our market and support the individuals and families we serve, as we call them, our Neighbors

What local farmers provided food to your clients?

In 2024 our Farm To Pantry Program worked with Middle Intervale Farm, Swain’s Farm, Chapman Brook Farm, Sparrowhawk Orchard, and Andover Food Pantry, Woodstock Food Pantry, Servant’s Heart Food Pantry in Peru, Oxford Hills Food Pantry, Stevens Memorial Hospital Food Pantry, and Old School Food Pantry in Rumford/Mexico. This program pays farmers for the excess produce they can’t sell retail. Then, that produce is distributed to Oxford County food pantries. The program was funded by GSFB through the Mainers Feeding Mainers program. Mainers Feeding Mainers is funded through the USDA. If we want to continue to support local farms and Oxford County food pantries we will need to seek private funding.

Bethel Area Food Pantry Director Mary McVey, from left, Clothing Exchange Director Maryvonne Wheeler and Executive Director Dave Bean on March 19, 2025. Rose Lincoln/Bethel Citizen

What does it mean to you and your clientele to have farm fresh food available?

Having local produce is essential to our mission of Ending Hunger in Maine. We do get some produce from retail pickups at Mainely Provisions each day, Walmart Mexico once a week, and Walmart Oxford Hills once a week.

One in eight Mainers face hunger. How do those numbers align in this area?

Bean refers to two charts:

A 2018 “Map the Meal Gap” shows Oxford County with a population of 57,299. The food insecurity rate at 14.4% or 8,250 food insecure individuals.

On the Bethel Area District Exchange and Food Pantry website under “Our Reach:” Oxford County and parts of the six adjacent counties, [there are:] 13,274 individual duplicated Neighbor visits per year; 573 unduplicated Neighbor families per year; 237% growth in the past two years

Bean concluded saying, “We will focus on Western Maine, Oxford County in particular, taking care of our Neighbors to the best of our ability. 40% of our $200,000 yearly operating budget goes directly to purchasing food. We will do the best that we can to take care of our Neighbors.”