Slack economy presses Maine food banks

LEWISTON – Maine charities say the struggling economy is having an effect on donations, which means there’s less food to give to the needy this Thanksgiving.

Paul McLaughlin of Hope Haven Gospel Mission said the Lewiston charity is running a $20,000 shortfall and that could double by the end of the year.

Dell Gray of the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston agreed donations are down. Gray said she gave out 30 Thanksgiving baskets last year, but only 12 this holiday.

The economy doesn’t seem to have affected food donations as hard. But Maine’s largest distributor of donated food, the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn, was surprised by the sharp increase in demand so early in the season. Food pantries and soup kitchens agreed demand is way up.