St. Philip’s Help Yourself Shelf Food Pantry, 12 Hodge St., and the Wiscasset Food Pantry at the Church of the Nazarene, 255 Gardiner Road, in Wiscasset, are open to all who are suffering from food insecurity. The Wiscasset Food Pantry is open Sundays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Every Thursday, with sign up beginning at 4 p.m. and choose time at 5, the Help Yourself Shelf, as well, strives to help ease that insecurity for any who seek us out.

To that end, many community groups and individuals have given aid to the Shelf. Thanks need to be proffered to Shaw’s of Wiscasset, long a pantry supporter. Through Good Shepherd Food Bank’s thrust to create more energy-saving ways for pantries to access food, the HYS now gleans produce and bakery items from Hannaford in Damariscotta. This has made a wonderful difference in the ability of the Shelf to offer fresh foods. To that end, we also offer tremendous thanks to Two Bridges Jail garden, Chewonki Foundation’s farm, as well as Kimberley Kresja, her son, Sean, with Sagadahoc MOFGA support, who have raised fresh, organic vegetables for the Shelf this summer at Morris Farm.

A big thank you goes to Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program of Brunswick, which has helped many times, passing along excess foods and supplies to both pantries. As well, they have expedited contributions of freezers and refrigerators, making it easier to offer more and varied foods.

The Wiscasset Senior Center is very much appreciated for their long time, on-going contributions, as is the Edgecomb Congregational Church’s Thrift Store, Wiscasset Congregational Church’s Outreach Program, Freedom Fellowship, Wiscasset Ford, United Way of Midcoast Maine, unions at Bath Iron Works, and the patrons of the Wiscasset Transfer Station bottle bin. Running totally on contributions, the Help Yourself Shelf and the Wiscasset Pantry would not be able to continue their mission without these groups, as well as the many individuals who contribute funds and items for redistribution. Thank you, and please continue to support the pantries. No contribution is too big or too small.

The HYS has a small group of volunteers that needs to know they are appreciated for their help in the day-to-day running of the HYS. Joining us this year, are volunteers from Chewonki's fall semester program. Each Tuesday and Thursday, three high energy, enthusiastic young people now show up to do more in half an hour than our mostly retired folk can accomplish in two hours! It’s “awesome.”

Speaking of volunteers, both the Church of the Nazarene Food Pantry and the Help Yourself Shelf are always in need of help. If you are looking for something meaningful to involve yourself in, please call St. Philip’s Church at 207-882-7184, and leave a message with a return phone number for either Lois or Gretchen, or Rev. Wally Staples at the Church of the Nazarene at 207-882-9088.

Very importantly, both Help Yourself Shelf and the Church of the Nazarene Food Pantry at 255 Gardiner Rd.,this past year have been part of Good Shepherd Food Bank’s new initiative, the Cupboard Collective thanks to a grant from MCHPP; however, the grant is soon coming to an end.

For $1,500 per year, which covers Wiscasset’s share of the delivery truck expenses, the two food pantries located in Wiscasset are able to order GSFB supplies that are delivered to the pantries two times per month. This not only is energy-efficient, it also allows for greater amounts of supplies to be delivered and dispersed to this area, classified by the government as a “food desert.”

The coming winter is promising to be a long and harsh one. Both pantries anticipate seeing their already elevated numbers increase yet again as those living on the edge of poverty have to dedicate more of their income to heat and other utilities.

Both the Nazarene Food Pantry and the Help Yourself Shelf would benefit greatly by continuing their membership in the Cupboard Collective, but with funds committed to supplies, both pantries are asking the community to dig a little deeper and donate specifically to a Cupboard Collective fund. Checks can be made out to St. Philip’s Church with “Cupboard Collective Fund” written on the memo line. As St. Philip’s is a 501(c) (3) entity, contributions are tax deductible. Send contributions to St. Philip’s Church, 12 Hodge St., Wiscasset, 04578. Please help us help those in our communities who need a leg up.