BLUE HILL – The shelves at the Tree of Life food pantry on a recent Wednesday afternoon were filled, awaiting the growing number of clients who would show up on Thursday to collect the cans of pasta, frozen chicken breasts, eggs and apples or cans of soup.

The numbers of people needing food has been growing steadily, and the folks who work at the pantry are becoming concerned about their ability to meet those needs.

Started in 1988 and incorporated in 1993, the pantry distributes food each Thursday afternoon and serves an average of about 70 families each week.

That’s almost double the number they were serving five or six years ago, according to treasurer Will Rosborough.

“The lowest number we’ve seen in years has been 70, and it has gotten as high as 92 families,” he said Wednesday. “It’s a tremendous strain. You’ve got to have the quantities you need on hand.”

In January 2002, the pantry served 617 people, both adults and children, Rosborough said. Last year in January, the number jumped to 896 people, and last month the total was 998.

The pantry provides emergency and supplemental food supplies for free to those who need it. Many elderly residents and a growing number of younger people rely on the pantry for food supplies.

“We’re seeing a lot of young people who have been laid off or who are seasonal workers,” volunteer Linda Monroe said. “We’re also getting a lot of families who have jobs but can’t make ends meet with the money they’re making. That all adds up.”

The Tree of Life, an independent nonprofit corporation that first was affiliated with the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, purchases almost all of the food it distributes weekly.

The purchases – about 3,000 pounds twice a month – are made possible partly through financial donations, but mainly through the activity that takes place at the Turnstyle in the front end of the building.

The Turnstyle is a clothing thrift shop, where the Tree of Life sells donated clothing. Those sales provide the bulk of the organization’s annual income of $50,758. According to Rosborough, 91 percent of that amount goes directly toward the purchase of food.

There’s a collection box at the back of the building where people can drop off clothing at any time, and they do regularly, he said. There are always bags of clothes in the box, and volunteers are in the building seven days a week working on the clothes.

The Turnstyle attracts a regular clientele who seem to appreciate the low prices and quality clothing at the shop, he said.

To meet the growing needs at the pantry, Rosborough said, the Tree of Life needs to expand, in both the pantry and the thrift shop.

“We need the room desperately,” he said. “That place [the pantry] is jammed out there.”

The question, he said, is whether the organization can afford a bigger building.

Although donations and the clothing sales cover the costs of food purchases and then some, the funds cannot cover the over all cost of operating the building. Heating and electricity costs have forced the group to dip into a reserve account earmarked for an annual scholarship to a local student.

Plans to add onto the existing building are still in the very early stages, and Rosborough indicated that they have not yet planned the funding for the construction.

It probably will be several years before the group can build the addition, he said.

“What we need is someone to write a grant for us,” he said. “We need a lump sum of money to do something with.”

He said the organization also hopes to attract local businesses that might be interested in underwriting part of the Tree of Life operation.

Donations can be made to: Tree of Life, PO Box 1329, Blue Hill 04614-1329.