SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — While many families are dealing with rising grocery costs, that pinch is now reaching food pantries as well.
South Portland Food Cupboard works to feed hundreds of families in need through its weekly distribution programs, made possible by the help of hundreds of volunteers working to send out 19 tons of food a week.
"Some weeks it's 40 [families], high 40s ... a really busy week like last week, we did almost 70," volunteer Chip LeBlanc said. "It's definitely a community effort way more than South Portland."
That number may be increasing soon, as Executive Director Dwayne Hopkins said the cupboard has seen an uptick of families in need.
Earlier this year, the cupboard first saw an increase of 53 percent in visiting families.
"Once we hit July, it started taking off again. August was just incredible," Hopkins said.
While some programs do not require registration, those that do started with 260 families in July. In August, that number jumped to 300.
The most popular items are produce, and like many items, are donated through partners like Good Shepard Food Bank and the Wayside program. Others are donated by community members or purchased by the cupboard.
To keep up with the increase in demand, the pantry has had to purchase almost double over budget in its previous fiscal year. Hopkins said that while demand is a factor, the overspending is mostly caused by higher food costs.
"When you see that kind of increase in the amount of food you have to put out, so now we have to buy more of the more expensive food to make sure that our recipients are getting well fed," Hopkins said.
As a result, the pantry hopes to cover more of its increase in budget for the next fiscal year by hosting events to fundraise.
"It's about getting the message out to as much of an audience as possible and letting people know where we are and what's going on," Hopkins said.