Stores answer call to feed neighbors
PRESQUE ISLE — The Aroostook County Action Program Inc. recently participated in St. Apollonia’s Festival of Trees at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle.
Contributed photos
Scott Carlin, owner of Star City IGA in Presque Isle, Hillside IGA in Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill IGA, presents 250 boxes of cereal to ACAP staff members Joyce Froehlich, Dave Nadeau, Cassie Caron, Amy Murchison and Marci Driscoll. Carlin and staff donated the cereal toward ACAP’s community giving tree at the Festival of Trees earlier this month, which will help out local families in need.
The Aroostook County Action Program’s Community Giving Tree at the recent Festival of Trees in Presque Isle. Designed to collect food for those in need, the tree was made of boxes of cereal. Local IGA stores helped out the effort by donating 250 boxes to the cause. 
“Unlike the other beautiful trees on display, the purpose of our tree was to collect cereal to distribute to County families in need,” said April Flagg, ACAP staff member and one of the collection coordinators. “Our staff collected boxes of cereal at our locations in Fort Kent, Madawaska, Caribou, Presque Isle, Houlton and Dyer Brook. We built a cereal tree from those donations.”
The effort got a big boost from local IGA stores in Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill through a matching challenge.
During the Dec. 2-4 Festival of Trees event, anyone placing a ticket in the ACAP bucket helped to match the cereal donations with an additional box of cereal from IGA, donated by owners Scott and Rena Carlin and the staff of Star City IGA in Presque Isle, Hillside IGA in Fort Fairfield and the Mars Hill IGA.
“At the end of the event, ACAP had received 1,189 tickets, well in excess of the 250 tickets we were hoping to receive, Flagg said.
“Between the boxes donated by ACAP employees, community members and IGA, every child in ACAP’s Early Care and Education Programs will have a box of cereal to take home. The remaining boxes will be used to stock the shelves of ACAP’s Community Cupboards in Presque Isle and Houlton.”
“We so appreciate IGAs partnership with this community project,” said Jason Parent, ACAP executive director/CEO. “Also, special thanks to Paul and Norma Desjardins, Sharon Chamberland and all of the volunteers at the Festival of Trees for supporting this project and welcoming our Community Giving Tree into their wonderful event.”
