Food boxes, cheese blocks available

If you struggle to get to enough to eat, you should know about this. The USDA program provides 30-pound boxes of food and blocks of cheese to low-income seniors and adults with disabilities. The food is distributed monthly by the Good Shepherd Food Bank, and the Eastern Area Agency on Aging (EAAA) handles the application process for Piscataquis County.
Thousands more boxes are now available each month, and EAAA is trying to get the word out to anyone in need. You can simply call EAAA at 1-800-432-7812 to talk with someone over the phone who will ask you some questions and get the process started.
There is also a need for additional spaces in central locations to store the pallets of food boxes and refrigerate the cheese. Volunteers are needed to distribute the food from those sites once a month. If you know of such an organization, please call EAAA at 1-800-432-7812.
In addition to this opportunity, the Meals on Wheels program continues, and you can also contact EAAA to sign up for that.
It is also important to remember that the following food cupboards in Piscataquis County:
Dover Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard ( DFAFC)
Contact person: Karen King 207-279-0402
Located: Congregational Church in Dover-Foxcroft
Distribution times: 2-5 p.m. on second and fourth Thursday every month
Guilford Pantry of Hope
Contact person: Peter at 313-9802 or Pastor Maureen (Reeni) Cipullo at 385-7327
Located: Guilford United Methodist Church, 3 School Street, Guilford
Distribution times: Every Wednesday from 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Some fuel vouchers available
Guilford Economic Partnership Inc.
Partnership Food Pantry
Contact person: Al Hunt at 343-1961
Food cupboard number 207-5180-8833
Located: Route 15 Elm Street, Guilford
Distribution: noon-3 p.m. on second and fourth Friday every month
This group also has a food cupboard in Greenville
Partnership Food Pantry
Contact person: Belinda at 518-8833 or Al Hunt at 343-1961
Located: 7 Minden Rd, Greenville
Distribution times: Call Al Hunt 343-1961
Milo Ecumenical Food Cupboard
Contact person: Hope and Lew Dyer at 943-7785
Food Cupboard number is 965-5125
Located: United Methodist Church, Park Street, Milo
Distribution times: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on first and fourth Thursdays every month. Visitors may come one time per month
Some fuel resources are available.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Sangerville and Dover Foxcroft Food Cupboard
Contact person: Church Office at 876 4926 or Barbara Wilbur at 277-3056
Located: Corner of Main and Church streets, Sangerville
Distribution times: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on first Wednesday and third Friday every month. A visitor may come one time a month.
Fuel assistance is available for Sangerville residents starting in January.
This article is brought to you by the Piscataquis Thriving in Place Collaborative (TiP). We are a regional task force working to help older and medically vulnerable adults safe and well in their homes and communities. We also provide support and education for caregivers. For assistance with locating supports and services, please call 564-0273. Thanks to Barbara Wilbur for providing the details about Piscataquis County food cupboards.
Readers are invited to offer feedback about this column and to suggest topics for future articles. You may do so by contacting Lesley Fernow at (207) 992-6822/lmfernow@rcn.com or Meg Callaway at (207) 270-2778/meg.callaway@charlottewhite.org.