Working Together To Feed Family: Chamber Chooses Food Pantry to Benefit From Buoy Tree
Village Holiday Details
BAR HARBOR—Mary grew up in Trenton. She and her two children live there now. School wasn’t easy for her because of depression and anxiety and surgery after surgery.
“I had to learn to grow up quickly,” she writes on the Bar Harbor Food Pantry site.
She became a mom at nineteen and started working between two and four jobs to get by. She used the TANF program for her daughter’s first year.
“I was told that the odds were against me to graduate as a young mother, but I used this as fuel. Before my daughter reached six months old I had finished my GED. When she turned one and a half I enrolled part-time in college, balancing multiple jobs and motherhood with coursework. A year later I was pregnant with my son, finishing my semester two weeks early to give birth.”
That was ten years ago. Now, Mary’s working to get a degree in mental health with a minor in human resource management. The Bar Harbor Food Pantry has helped keep her and her family afloat and fed while she works to make a better life.
Mary’s not alone.
“This year, we have had over 6,200 customer visits to the pantry,” said Executive Director Tom Reeve.
That is an increase of 72% over 2022.
“And we have six weeks left in the year,” he said.
Over 900 households have used the pantry at least once this year.
“This is an increase of 25%. The greatest increase has come from seasonal workers, many of whom use the pantry once or twice when they arrive in town without food or money,” Reeve said. “I believe that this increase is due to the extra H2B visas that Senator King and Senator Collins secured last year. Since they have been able to get more visas again for 2024, I would expect this trend to continue.”
However, it’s not just seasonal workers that are asking for help. It’s local people like Mary.
“We have also seen more year-round households than ever, including some we have not seen for years. This indicates that many are struggling with the cost of living increases in our area and are looking for help to make ends meet,” Reeve said.
According to a March 2023 article in the New York Times,
“Grocery prices increased 10 percent over the past year, according to data released this week. It amounts to a one-two punch: The country’s neediest have less aid to pay for food as it’s getting more expensive.”
Experts call what’s happening a hunger cliff, the Times says. German Lopez writes,
“To buy food, other families may have to use money that would otherwise have gone to rent or other bills — and fall behind on those payments.
“The stress on family food budgets represents a tangible example of how a recent rise in the nation’s poverty rate is affecting people’s lives. The poverty rate fell sharply in 2021 — to 7.8 percent by one measure, from 11.8 percent in 2019 — thanks mostly to economic relief laws that Congress passed in response to Covid. But Congress has let many provisions expire, and the poverty rate rose in 2022 as a result.
“‘It is a very large and abrupt change,’ said Ellen Vollinger of Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy group. ‘The hardship will fall on these families.’”
Those families are families in Bar Harbor, MDI, and all of Hancock County where both year-round and seasonal residents need help not falling off the hunger cliff.
That’s why the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming lobster buoy tree is a fundraiser for the Bar Harbor Food Pantry.
“Last year was the first year that we did the buoy tree and we benefited the Maine Lobstermen Association’s efforts to protect Maine’s lobstering heritage. When we had a lot of community support for the initiative and requests to bring it back, we thought it would be great to make the buoy tree an annual Bar Harbor tradition. We felt that it could have the biggest impact each year by rotating which nonprofit benefited from the proceeds. With so many amazing nonprofits on MDI and within Hancock County, it was hard to choose just one. This year, increased food costs have led to higher levels of food insecurity than we have seen in some time. With all the time and effort the Bar Harbor Food Pantry puts in to address that within our community, we felt that this would be the perfect year to support them and bring attention to their work,” said the Chamber’s Executive Director Everal Eaton.
The University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension states that 14.4% of Maine households are food insecure; this translates into 16% of Maine seniors, and 1 in 5 children, so the statistics vary among age demographics. It also states that Maine is 9th in the nation for food insecurity.
According to the USDA, about 10.5% of households in the United States were food insecure in 2020, which represents 13.8 million Americans. Feeding America estimates that 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure in 2021. An article on Stacker estimates that the food insecurity rate in Hancock County is 8.3% higher than the rest of the country, with the insecurity rate for kids being 22.6% higher than the national average. That translates to 1,690 children and 6,420 total residents.
The USDA defines food insecurity as
“At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. Food-insecure households include those with low food security and very low food security.”
Every fundraiser helps. Every donation helps.
“We are thrilled to be selected as the beneficiary of the buoy tree this year,” Reeve said. “This has been another record-breaking year for the pantry, and the support of our entire community has made it possible for us to answer the needs of so many. I can't think of a better representation of that support than a Christmas tree covered with buoys designed by our community.”
VILLAGE HOLIDAYS
Fresh off the pajama sale and bed races, the buoy tree isn’t the only event the Chamber has as it heads toward the end of the year. The Village Holidays, another annual event organized by the Chamber is on December 1. The trio of events is a lot of effort for the organization’s small staff and volunteers.
“‘The purpose of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce shall be to promote the business interests and general welfare of the town of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Hancock County, and surrounding areas while providing exceptional services to visitors,’” Eaton said. “Every time, we are faced with the question of ‘why do we do this’ or ‘should we do that,’ we come back to this mission statement; it’s what all our work flows through. For these events specifically, they are great ways to connect our businesses with the community. We have a strong, vibrant community within Bar Harbor and MDI. Events like these that allow us all to come together, connect, and celebrate are critical to maintaining that strong sense of community that many of us call home.”
Chamber President Bo Jennings agreed.
“I love the small town feel of it. You don't see this type of thing in major metropolitan cities. These are charming events that you have to experience in person, and they instantly evoke memories of Americana, Saturday Evening Post, and even your favorite Hallmark Holiday movie. But these events bring our community together. And in a time of so much political divide, what could be better than cheering on your favorite participant right next to a perceived adversary. Events won't cause peace in Bar Harbor, but they can help bridge any divide,” he said.
And though it takes time, money, and effort, Jennings and Eaton agreed that it was well worth it.
“The Chamber staff and board work tirelessly to do these events for its members, local residents, and visitors alike,” Jennings said. “It takes a lot of time, and a lot of money to operate the chamber and serve the needs of the town. We look forward to continuing providing all services, and working with the town to create a more stable partnership.”
Eaton said, “Maybe I’m still a kid at heart, but I’m still a big believer in the spirit of the holiday season. I think it is a time of the year for us to set aside our differences and come together. This year, like many others, has not been without its challenges, but we have all also had a lot of successes that are worth celebrating. It marks the closing of one chapter and the start of another. I think events like Village Holidays, the Buoy Tree, and the Early Bird Pajama Sale and Bed Races are perfect opportunities to do just that as a community.”
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TWO EVENTS
For the buoy tree, blank buoys can be picked up at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce Administration Office located on the lower level of the town’s municipal building on Cottage Street for $20/buoy.
Anyone who participated last year and painted a buoy can reuse or redecorate their buoy by providing a monetary donation or by donating a nonperishable food item. All buoys returned by November 30 will be entered into a raffle drawing for $250.
For Village Holidays, any business wishing to participate in offering a deal during the event can sign up from now through November 29th to be featured during the day’s events.
WHERE IS THE FOOD PANTRY
The food pantry is located behind the YWCA. It’s open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VILLAGE HOLIDAY
On Friday, December 1st, Santa Claus will be in Bar Harbor to officially kick off the holiday season! The festivities will get underway at 5:00 pm with hot chocolate and cookies while the sounds of the season fill the air. Santa Claus will arrive to help light the town Christmas tree and offer a special reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
After the tree lighting, Santa Claus will head to the MDI YMCA from 5:30-7:00 p.m., where children and families will have a chance to create some holiday crafts and take part in fun activities provided by local businesses.
Starting at 6:00 p.m., shop local and support our small business community this holiday season. Shops throughout Bar Harbor will be offering you the chance to get started on your holiday shopping at our Village Holidays Sale.
RELATED NEWS
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust has pledged a total of $5,000 in matching donations to five Hancock County food pantries. The Bank will match up to $1,000 of donations made to each of the following food pantries between November 26 and December 2:
· Bar Harbor Food Pantry (Bar Harbor)
· Common Good Soup Kitchen (Southwest Harbor)
· Emmaus Homeless Shelter (Ellsworth)
· Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry (Ellsworth)
· Schoodic Food Pantry (Gouldsboro)
“With our pledge of $5,000 in matching funds, we hope to encourage the community to join us in donating to a local food pantry and help our neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity,” said Jack Frost, VP Director of Community Giving at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. “Mainers are known for their kindness and generosity, and this is a perfect opportunity to prove that good things happen when we work together.”
Visit www.barharbor.bank/food to learn more.
Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB) is the parent company of its wholly owned subsidiary, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. Operating over 50 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust is headquartered in Bar Harbor, Maine and has more than $3.9 billion in assets. As a leading Northern New England community bank, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust offers a full range of personal and business banking services, as well as wealth management services through its subsidiary Bar Harbor Wealth Management. For more information about Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, visit www.barharbor.bank or call 888-853-7100. Member FDIC.
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you have a business in Bar Harbor that would like to take part in the Village Holiday Sale, Register Here.
The Bar Harbor Food Pantry’s website.
The NYT article by German Lopez
