Stories of hope buoy Manna

BANGOR – For one local food pantry director, it’s not just the act of giving that gets him through the holidays, it’s the stories about those who have received and now are helping others.

Marie is a mother of three children, all under the age of 15.

“She came last year and got turkeys from us,” Manna Inc. Director Bill Rae said Wednesday.

As he spoke, volunteers around him were busy handing out turkeys to those in need of food for today’s Thanksgiving meal.

“This year, [Marie] brought five,” Rae said. “That happens a lot.”

Rae said he’s extremely grateful to the Bangor area people who helped provide turkeys to about 5,000 people this year. That’s 500 more turkeys than last year that get sent to food pantries all over the state.

“It’s really just an unbelievable year of needs,” Rae said.

Rae calls those in need “the invisible people” – the ones who have jobs and apartments or homes, but don’t earn enough to make ends meet. They’re not the people we see standing on the street corner or sitting on park benches day after day, Rae said.

“When I hear things like, ‘the economy is doing so well,’ it might be at that corporate level … but down here on the bottom level it’s never been so bad,” he said.

The Manna facility, housed at the former site of Beal College off Main Street, has been filled for the last two weeks with people having dinner.

And they’re new faces, not just the regulars, Rae said.

“This is going to be a hard, hard year,” Rae said. “Not just with the snow, just with the people.”

Many people, particularly the elderly and those on fixed incomes, are having to choose between fuel, medication and food, he said.

He hopes that Manna can provide them with the ability to use what little money they have for necessities other than food.

“A turkey isn’t going to pay your rent, [but] it gives you a sense of hope and a sense of belonging,” Rae said.

For Rae, the pantry director, the holidays are filled with stories of people giving to their neighbors, but Rae said that there’s always a few, like Marie, who stand out.

Recently, an 8-year-old boy Rae referred to Wednesday as “Adam” had a birthday party.

“Rather than having kids bring toys, he had people bring canned goods and turkeys,” Rae said.

“Adam” then brought the five bags of canned food and two turkeys he had received for his birthday to Manna to share with those in need.

“That makes me feel like there’s hope,” Rae said. “There’s hope for tomorrow.”

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