Given the spike in gas and oil prices, predictions for a colder than usual winter, and the decline in job opportunities in the region at this time of year, it is no surprise that more local families than ever are in need of help to put food on the table. The number of people served by the Boothbay Region Food Pantry has risen sharply since September, with a particularly large jump last month.

The Food Pantry supplied groceries during its regular open hours to 49 families in September, to 56 families in October, and to 72 families in November. Individual family members, most of them children, totaled 97 in September, 119 in October, and a startling 160 in November. In addition, the Pantry distributed to local families about 90 Thanksgiving baskets containing all the ingredients for a fine turkey or chicken dinner (depending on each family's preference).

In December, the Food Pantry again faces a double challenge. Directors and volunteers will continue each Friday to serve all of the region's residents who need food assistance even if their numbers keep on going up. Moreover, on the Saturday before Christmas, the Pantry will also provide to those clients who have signed up food boxes brimming with everything needed for a traditional Christmas dinner. All this is made possible because of the ongoing generosity of individuals, businesses, churches, and other organizations in the Boothbay region, as well as special food drives like the one so successfully carried out recently by teachers and children in our elementary school. Thank you!

Additional financial donations would be most appreciated and are, of course, tax deductible. Checks may be sent to the Boothbay Region Food Pantry, P.O. Box 63, East Boothbay, ME 04544. Food donations also are helpful and may be left at the Pantry door in the Congregational Church basement. Items particularly needed this month are: dessert mixes for the Christmas boxes, canned fruit, and regular and decaffeinated coffee.

The Boothbay Region Food Pantry is located in the lower level of the Congregational Church at One Eastern Avenue. It is open every Friday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. and is accessible to people in wheelchairs. If you can't make it to regular open hours or if you have a food emergency, call the church at 633-4757 Monday through Friday. If the church office is closed, call Don Schuman at 882-4854. The pantry serves the towns of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb. New clients should provide proof of residency, such as a recent utility bill, lease, or property tax bill.