Manuela Abriham gives her son Cristovao a nectarine she picked out Tuesday afternoon at Gather to Grow on Bates Street in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)Food pantries already experiencing an increase in need from last spring brace for what could be more demand this month amid unce...
Manuela Abriham gives her son Cristovao a nectarine she picked out Tuesday afternoon at Gather to Grow on Bates Street in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

Food pantries already experiencing an increase in need from last spring brace for what could be more demand this month amid uncertainty around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program caused by the government shutdown.

A federal court ruled last week that the federal government must continue to pay SNAP benefits for November. Another federal judge in Rhode Island on Thursday ordered the government to fully fund November SNAP benefits by Friday.

However, it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will release this month’s benefits.

To fill the void, Gov. Janet Mills on Friday said the state will issue full SNAP benefits for the month starting Nov. 10.

Amid the uncertainty, people filtered in and out of the Gather to Grow food pantry Tuesday afternoon on Bates Street in Lewiston. People sat in chairs waiting for their turn to pick food they needed market-style, while others waited outside for their number to be called.

For Sherie Blumenthal, Gather to Grow’s director of community impact, it is still unclear how the situation with SNAP benefits will impact the need at the food pantry. Maine recipients usually get their benefits closer to the middle of the month, so if the government complies with the court order and acts soon, then Maine recipients could get their benefits in their usual timeframe.

“The place we’re in right now is a place of fear and uncertainty,” she said.

Leigh St. Pierre, right, helps shoppers pick out food items Tuesday afternoon at Gather to Grow on Bates Street in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

The food pantry saw a sizable increase in need last spring when federal funding cuts were announced and many nonprofits laid off workers, Blumenthal said.

The number of unique households the food pantry serves each month has continued to increase, according to food pantry data. In May it served 787 households, but by October, that number had risen to 1,321.

Around that same time last spring, federal funds that went to food banks were also cut, she said. Food banks have been trying to make up for it ever since.

On top of that, times were already tough for food pantry clients, many of whom also get SNAP benefits that already do not go far enough. 

Mellissa Grazier sat inside at a table waiting for her number to be called Tuesday while volunteers moved busily around her calling numbers, retrieving items and helping clients. A disk in her back pressing on her spine makes it difficult for her to stand for long periods of time and she relies on a cane to help her walk.

People patiently wait their turn to pick out food items Tuesday afternoon at Gather to Grow on Bates Street in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

She lost her job last May working with a local nonprofit health care service that laid off several employees after federal funding cuts were announced. She makes $400 less per month on unemployment than she did when she worked, she estimates. Despite that, she only qualifies for $24 in SNAP benefits and her income is still too high to receive benefits from MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program.

“I’m poor but not poor enough,” Grazier said.

She has come to rely on Gather To Grow to help keep her and her elderly mother, who lives with her, fed as her unemployment and her mother’s Social Security cover other basic needs — costs that she expects will continue to increase, she said.

“If it wasn’t for (Gather to Grow) I don’t know what we’d do,” she said.

Grazier wants to work but she thinks most employers who have interviewed her pass her over when they realize she has a mobility issue, she said.

“I’ve walked into several interviews and they just see how I walk and they look at me like, ‘Hmm, she’s either going to be out or she’s going to fall,’” she said.

Her condition will only get worse over time but because she has no insurance she cannot afford the surgery she needs to improve it, compounding the situation, she said. She relies heavily on St. Mary’s sliding fee scale to help cover checkups with her doctor.

If she cannot get needed medical tests and procedures her condition will likely worsen, she said. She is concerned it could prevent her from being able to work at all in the future.

One of dozens of food boxes ready for distribution is seen Wednesday at the High Street Congregational Church food pantry in Auburn. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

The food pantry tends to see an uptick in client attendance late in SNAP benefits cycle before the next month’s benefits are renewed, Blumenthal said.

In the meantime, the pantry will operate on its usual schedule, but if there is increased need in correlation with SNAP cuts then organizers may look into expanding their hours, if possible, she said.

The food cupboard at Auburn’s High Street Congregational Church UCC, partnered with the United Methodist Church nearby, has already seen an uptick in need, Pastor Deborah Duval said.

Through the work of dozens of volunteers, every Thursday the church’s food pantry gives out a box of nonperishable food and a box of meat and produce to 65 families, who are allowed to come every three weeks.

For the past couple of weeks roughly 20 new families have been added to the church’s pantry list each week, which is well above the average of three to four that usually sign up, she said.

She thinks rising grocery prices, decreasing benefits, laid-off federal workers and other strains are driving people to food pantries.

Lately more people have showed up every week than the pantry can provide food for, she said. There is a table where people can place items from the boxes that they may not use, and any of the church’s pantry clients can come and take those items.

The church is trying to find ways it can provide more food and meals to the community. Starting this week, the church will provide a free meal each Sunday for the month of November, partnering with We Feed Us, she said. She hopes to continue to provide those meals beyond this month.

The Rev. Debbie Rogers Duval stands Thursday morning with boxes of food ready for distribution at the High Street Congregational Church Food Pantry in Auburn. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)

With winter setting in and associated costs expected to rise, Duval only expects the need for food to grow in the near future, she said.

“The need is going to continue to rise,” she said. “And especially as we get into the colder months and people have higher heating bills and higher electric bills it’s definitely going to rise.”

For more information on how to get food, donate food or volunteer for the High Street Church, email [email protected]. To reach out to Gather to Grow, email [email protected] or call 207-513-3848.

Gather to Grow food pantry hours are Tuesday 1-6 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to noon. High Street Church’s pantry hours are Thursdays starting at 8:30 a.m.