The Lyman-Dayton Food Pantry became a reality in December, 1999. As Lions Club members petitioned the town for permission to lease the building, we began our task. We were donated shelving by the library, freezers from local neighbors, and enough food to stock the shelves for our beginning. We opened our doors on December 8, with 3 local families applying for assistance. Over the past year, we have grown, not only in numbers of people served, but also have expanded the pantry shelves, freezers, refrigerators, and have added a clothing closet. We now have all of our clients qualification criteria on a donated computer, and this has cut down on the amount of paperwork.

Our client numbers have risen from 3 families when we first opened in 1999, to over 64 families currently. We serve approximately 256 people 3 meals per month. This is quite a lot of food.

We receive food on a monthly basis through York County Community Action, (government surplus) and if there is enough money, purchase food through the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Lewiston. We try to purchase foods that will make well rounded and nutritional meals, and Good Shepherd is a very economical source, as most of their food items cost only .16/lb. Eg. A pound of coffee is .16, a pound of hamburger, .16, etc, therefore, donations of cash go a long way towards feeding our hungry. Other food is donated from local churches, scouts, schools, businesses, and private citizens.

The Holiday Season is another time of heavy food distribution. At Thanksgiving and again at Christmas, we provide food baskets containing entire turkey and ham dinners for all our recipients, as well as some that are not regular recipients. We get GREAT support from the entire community for this mission.

Both last year and this, we were able to apply for and receive a FEMA Grant, although this years allocation was half of last years. Since this money can only be used on food items, the administrative costs of running the pantry must be raised by donations. Last Year our costs for utilities was just under $3,000. We anticipate this years to run higher because of the addition of additional freezers, and the high cost of fuel.

The Lyman Dayton Food Pantry would like to thank all those who have helped our mission of helping those less fortunate meet their daily challenges .