• Sweet peas (7 pallets)
• Carrots (3.5 pallets)
• Tuna (5 pallets)
• Assorted frozen meats (12 pallets)
• Green beans (6 pallets)
• Canned peaches (8 pallets)
• Canned pears (8 pallets)

If you are wondering whether we have a particular product in stock, we recommend calling ahead to the distribution center you visit.

• Help set up a website or Facebook page that will be easy to maintain. The internet offers great opportunities for sharing information about events, menus, storm closings, etc.  
• Help graph data on the change in numbers of pantry and soup kitchen customers, number of new or returning customers served, household size, etc. This data can be used in grant writing, public relations, and presentations.
• Interview pantry and soup kitchen volunteers about why they choose to serve or what changes they have seen over time. Written or video interviews can be used in newsletters, on a website, or in fundraising efforts.  
• Help research and create brochures on programs that save people money so they can buy more food, such as smoking cessation classes, free tax preparation, free clothing sites, etc. 
• Make a display about nutritious eating habits using information from USDA's "My Plate" program.  
• Research recipes for items that are harder for pantries to move. Teens can even prepare some of the recipes and offer samples or make recipe cards to hand out at the pantry or soup kitchen.

High schoolers have energy and expertise that can help a pantry or soup kitchen grow and reach more people in the community, and they may just make the experience more enjoyable for customers and other volunteers as well!   

Submitted by Keith Whitmore, Crossroads Ministries Pantry Director 

Crossroads Ministries of Old Town was founded 20 years ago by a woman who saw a need to feed people. She started by feeding one family and buying the food herself. Twenty years later, we currently feed 680 families with an average of 5 people per household. Private donations make up about 15 % of the food we distribute, while the rest is acquired at Good Shepherd Food Bank in Brewer.

When Crossroads first began, no one could have imagined the constant battle we still face today. Like all other food pantries, we work nonstop each and every month to make sure no family goes without.

Due to the economic changes within our state, families are being forced to move back together just to keep the lights on. Some of the people facing this situation were just last year some of our largest benefactors. Many people, because they work, are found to be over the income limit for food stamps, so they come to us out of a mixture of need and frustration. These are proud people who would otherwise never have dreamed this could happen to them, but alas here they are.

We are fortunate to live in a community that is strongly tied together. When made aware of a problem, they come together in force to fill the food pantry shelves. Homemakers will call us to see what we need so they can pick up extra items while doing their weekly shopping. There are large corporations that faithfully deliver a check to us each month. Without the generosity of these donors we would have to close our doors like so many other pantries have done. That would be a tragedy for this community - one by the grace of God I hope we never have to face.    

To learn more about Crossroads Ministries, visit www.crossroadsministries-online.org.