By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

When the United Methodist Church held its last service, Penni Robbins knew the clock started to tick regarding the future of the Bridgton Food Pantry.

Robbins, who serves as the pantry’s supervisor, knew a day would arrive when a for sale sign would be placed on the church’s front lawn, signaling the need to relocate the food pantry.

The “for sale” sign appeared last week. The church, circa 1870, is on the market for an asking price of $420,000. A Norway real estate office is listing the 6,000-plus square foot building. On its website, the realtor lists as possible uses: bank, bar, brewery/winery, Community Center, dwelling, education facility, essential services, funeral home, theatre, offices, recreation, religious assembly, restaurant and retail.

A sale will displace the food pantry, as well as the Community HELP thrift shop.

“We have been fortunate to use the space for almost two years. Community HELP will continue in some form if we have to move,” said Laura McCabe, vice president of Community HELP Inc. “Our board is looking for ways to make this happen…We need all the support we can get right now. We are feeling helpless, but not hopeless. It takes a village. We will continue our mission to support our community.”

McCabe asks the public if anyone knows of a potential space that is “free or low cost,” she would be interested in hearing from them.

McCabe said the Church Council e-mailed Community HELP on Monday asking the thrift shop to vacate the building “within two to four months.”

“We have no place to go. We want to continue to help our community. We need help,” McCabe said.

Community HELP gave over 1,000 items during a Winter Wear Giveaway. On any given Tuesday, Community HELP gives $150 to $300 in clothing to families in need, McCabe reported.

“We have new families coming in for items for new babies. We know there is a need for our services,” she said.

Robbins received news of the church property hitting the real estate market from a local realtor. Not long after, she received an e-mail from the Church Council, which has its New England headquarters in Massachusetts.

“We knew it was coming. The (Bridgton Food Pantry) board is actively looking for some place to go. We are going to be here ‘for a time,’ not really 100 percent sure how long,” Robbins said. “They gave us a lease. They have graciously let us stay for the last two years — they paid all the utilities. We have since taken over all the utilities and maintenance. After all this time, it is very reasonable to do that.”

The lease provides the pantry six months before the operation would need to vacate the building. 

“We’re playing it week by week right now,” Robbins said. “I know a couple of people have been in to look at the building.”

The pantry will fund utility and maintenance expenses through monthly donations — “they’re very generous,” Robbins said — and funds received from a first time appeal campaign. 

“We sent out 4,000. We’ve had an excellent response, which will help out. Other than that, we’re an all donation pantry,” Robbins said.

The pantry does apply for the CDBG block grant money the Town of Bridgton receives. That money helps offset the cost of purchasing food items from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn. Robbins said the last year and a half, BFP has purchased meat from Rock Mountain Farm in Poland, off Route 11. 

“They have been very good to us,” Robbins said.

With the current supply shortages being felt at local grocery stores, that pinch has also been felt by the pantry. Robbins said the item in least supply is meat. 

“It’s hard to come by. We get most of our meat donation from Hannaford. Usually, we give out four or five meats every week. This week, I don’t know if we are going to be able to give out any. We’re trying to give clients other protein options,” Robbins said. “I go with what we’ve got.”

Finding a new home for the pantry could be a challenge. The pantry currently has three freezers and three refrigerators, along with tables and shelving to place food items.

“We need more space. We could offer the clients a lot more choices if we had more space. Good Shepherd requires us to have everything under lock and key, so we need a real secure location,” Robbins said. 

Some pantry board members are looking into possible locations. Robbins says the pantry likely needs 6,000 square feet. 

“We’d like to find something that is a little bigger than what we have now, and with more parking. We’d also like to be centrally located since a number of our clients do walk,” Robbins said. “We make do with what we have right now.”

When the church closed, talk started about space options. One idea was possibly building an addition to the Community Center. But, that effort would be expensive, require a serious fundraising drive, and it would take time a couple of years to build.

The pantry opened in 1985, 

“It started with five or six families. We are now up to 320 families. Every week, we have new sign-ups. It’s the cost of food. It’s the heating season. There are people facing the choice of either staying warm or do I eat. No one should have to make that kind of choice. The pantry has been associated with the Salvation Army, and I have written mega vouchers for propane and oil,” Robbins said. “We’re going to put out flyers to let people know what is available to them.”

Robbins gets great satisfaction knowing she is making a difference in people’s lives.

Three weeks ago, one client came to the pantry for the first time. He walked in with his head down. 

“Everyone seems to think they need to explain why they need help. They don’t need to, unless they want to,” Robbins said.

This man had battled cancer and the cost of his care devoured his savings. He hadn’t worked in a year.

“He was almost in tears. He had me almost in tears. Any time he picked something up, he said, ‘thank you, thank you.’ We have others down on their luck. They didn’t ask for cancer. They didn’t ask to lose their job due to Covid. We have a lot of seniors who come in. Everything is going up in price, but Social Security doesn’t keep up. They get their food here,” Robbins said.

Each month, seniors can pick up a 60-plus box — it’s for those 60 years of age and older. Items are shelf stable, like cereal, vegetables and peanut butter. The pantry also provides food items for seniors upon their departure from Bridgton Hospital “so they go home with something that will last a couple of days.”

The current set-up enables those in need a one-stop shopping experience — picking up food items at the pantry located in the church’s basement (Robbins pointed out that clients are given a box and can choose products, rather than handed pre-selected items), and then walking up the stairs to Community HELP, where they can find gently-used clothing items.

Robbins spoke highly of dedicated volunteers, numbering 15 — which includes several members of her immediate family. “They’re a great group,” she said. “We work well together. We know it gets stressful at times, but we get along. It’s like a family.”

Robbins remains optimistic that a solution will be found, hopefully sooner than later.

“It takes a lot for someone to walk through those doors and ask for help. People will ask what they have to bring with them, and I tell them the only thing we require is a smile. They say, ‘we can do that.’ Good,” said Robbins, who has worked the pantry since 2008. “It’s hard at times, but I enjoy it. We all understand the importance of what we do here.”

Now, they need to find a new home to keep serving a population that relies upon them.