PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A statewide food drive to feed the needy in Aroostook County enjoyed a record breaking year for monetary donations, according to one of the organizers.
Traci Place, business agent for the South Portland-based Teamsters Local 340, said the Feed The County Food Drive brought in 4,000 pounds of food and $7,225 in donations during the annual Maine Potato Blossom Festival parade on July 16.
“Money is still trickling in,” she said. “We were so thrilled to see everyone supporting us like they did. Everywhere we went, people were just so generous to us. It was just amazing.”
The food drive, in its seventh year, benefits Catholic Charities of Maine Hunger and Relief Food Banks in The County through its “Feed The County” collection campaign. The parade serves as a vehicle for the effort. During the parade, Teamsters members and representatives from Catholic Charities of Maine collected donations and food along the parade route.
Last year, Place said, Teamsters collected between $6,000 and $6,500 in monetary donations and 10,000 pounds of food.
Place said she believes that the rise in monetary donations was a result of the agency getting the word out about their new emphasis on cash donations over food donations.
“When you have figures that show that $100 enables the purchase of 900 pounds of food, it just makes sense to try and collect more monetary donations,” she said. “That money goes a long way in helping to keep people fed each year.”
