Ending Hunger Week a food pantry fund-raiser

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Organizations that help feed Maine’s hungry are participating in Maine Ending Hunger Week, which is Friday, Nov. 17, through Monday, Nov. 27.

For one organization, the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry of Ellsworth, the event is this year’s only fund-raiser, according to agency board member Jan Smith of Lamoine.

Smith wrote to inform readers that during “the 10 days over Thanksgiving when donations are made” to this pantry in Ellsworth, among many other food pantries statewide, 10 percent of the funds raised by each organization is matched by Partners in Ending Hunger of Camden.

For this particular food pantry, that match means a great deal.

Smith pointed out that food pantries not only need contributions of food, but also monetary contributions. “Even though drives by Boy Scouts, postal workers and others help to fill the shelves, most food must be purchased from the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Lewiston or its North/East Branch in Brewer,” she wrote.

Smith added that sometimes, Loaves & Fishes must purchase such staples as peanut butter from a local market.

That is why those who work with Loaves & Fishes, and other food pantries, hope you will “express your thankfulness for the abundance of delicious food you enjoy, especially at Thanksgiving, by sending a generous donation to the food pantry in your area” during Maine Ending Hunger Week.

And, it goes without saying that Smith would be more than pleased if you would be as generous as possible with the financial donation that you send to Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, P.O. Box 1245, Ellsworth 04605.

Smith said that Loaves & Fishes, which serves all of Hancock County, was started in the basement of the rectory of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ellsworth. She said the pantry “grew and the local Ministerial Association, which includes the local pastors in the area, were invited to join in.”

Now, she said, “we have something like eight churches and 12 civic organizations that take one month a year serving the pantry, and it really is a very satisfying thing to do.”

So, once again, now is the time to make financial contributions to local food pantries.

By being as generous as possible, these organizations all benefit from the 10 percent match provided by Partners in Ending Hunger.

The 23rd Annual Christmas Craft Fair is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft.

Coordinated by Eunice Finley, a new element has been added this year.

For 22 years, the Women’s Community Garden Club provided refreshments, but that group has now turned its responsibilities over to the SeDoMoCha Middle School Student Council.

The pupils’ refreshment sales will help them raise money for several projects that include painting their mascot, an eagle, on the gymnasium floor; purchasing a new public address system for the facility; and raising money for a sign at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Summer Street to let everyone know where their school is.

Foxcroft Academy’s Senior Girl Scout Troop #689 will be there as well, selling boxes of historical prints of Dover-Foxcroft to help raise funds for their trip to The Girl Scout World Center at Pax Lodge in London, England.

And, with more than 90 crafters participating, this is one holiday fair not to be missed.

Members of the Houlton Rotary Club this year, are hosting their 45th Annual Radio and TV Auction to benefit community projects in the Greater Houlton Area.

A major fund-raiser for this club, the event airs from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20; Tuesday, Nov. 21; and Wednesday, Nov. 22 on WHOU Radio and Beacon Cable Channel 36 at Houlton High School.

The auction is held at the HHS auditorium, and the public is welcome to attend.

Most impressive is that this year’s retail value of items donated by area businesses and individuals, exceeds $18,000.

To bid on any item, tune in to the radio or television stations and call the telephone numbers provided there.

Besides providing an opportunity to bid on items that interest you, the event features the Boy & the Boot Endowment Program in which individuals pledge a $1,000 contribution to the fund at the Houlton Regional Health Services Foundation, which benefits local health care.

Pledges can be paid over 10 years, using a variety of payment methods.

You can also make pledges to help the fund-raising efforts of the Houlton High School Alumni, which is raising money to upgrade the gym floor and bleachers through the “Friends of the Gym” program.

Information on the auction is available from auction chairman Max Lynds, club president Jim Brown, or any Houlton Rotary Club member.

The public is invited to hear Walter Nowick of Surry in a piano recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19, at All Souls Congregational Church, 10 Broadway in Bangor. Nowick, who founded the Moonspring Hermitage and The Surry Opera, will play works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Bartok.

He will perform on the Arlan A. Baillie Memorial Steinway Piano as part of the church’s Steinway Series.

A Celebrity Bake Sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, on the second floor of Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, will benefit Hospice of Eastern Maine. Celebrity cooks include local television personalities Sharon Pelletier, Jeff Matthews, Jan Smith and Matt Fine; University of Maine coaches Shawn Walsh, Paul Kostakopolis, John Giannini and Sharon Versyp; UMaine’s Dianne Hoff and Husson College coach Kissy Walker.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.