PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Historical Society, the Grace Interfaith Food Pantry and the Danforth Food Pantry will all be seeing new donations soon, thanks to the Aroostook Agency on Aging.
The agency said on Oct. 20 that the three community partners will split a combined $7,150 from money obtained from the CARES Act, which distributes funds to provide aid to businesses and other organizations that have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be distributed the first week of November.
“We are so fortunate to be awarded the grant,” said Ardis Brown, the town manager for Danforth. “It was very exciting.”
Brown said the town-run food pantry, which is located at the town’s union hall, will use the money to improve the pantry’s electrical heating system.
“It’s our number-one major concern,” said Brown. “So we reached out to Aroostook Agency on Aging, and kind of laid out what was going on. And they graciously agreed to help us.”
At Grace Interfaith, Director of Volunteers Charlene Buzza said the money will go towards supplying the pantry with extra food. She said the pantry generally sees an increase of people using it during this time of year, and with that comes the need for more food.
“Most of the time [grant money] is for general use, but food comes first,” said Buzza. “Right now it probably will be food for Thanksgiving, such as cranberry sauce and stuffing.”
The Presque Isle Historical Society has had to cancel many of its tours this year due to the pandemic, instead opting to do virtual tours which have been uploaded online. Diminished tour revenues have bit into the society’s bottom line, and Secretary-Treasurer Kim Smith said the money will help keep the society running.
“With the CARES Act, it generally goes towards operating expenses,” said Smith. “And that’s exactly what this money will be going towards.”
This is the second time the Aroostook Agency on Aging has distributed CARES Act funding across The County. The first time was in August, when it distributed $10,000 to five different community groups. The agency gives funding to groups that work to support the health and interests of older adults, as well as adults with disabilities, throughout Aroostook County.
