SHERMAN, Maine — About a week before Thanksgiving, the Upper Valley Economic Corporation (UVEC) Food Pantry distributed 60 Thanksgiving baskets to families in southern Aroostook and northern Penobscot Counties.
Each basket contained a frozen turkey, fresh baked rolls, canned pumpkin, and turkey gravy that were all purchased from Sherman Thriftway. Other items provided by the Good Shepherd Food Pantry and Maine Catholic Charities included boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, as well as potatoes, carrots, and squash grown locally at Gardiner Farms in Stacyville.
At their annual town meeting in March of 2016, Stacyville citizens once again voted to appropriate $1,000 for the baskets. The UVEC Food Pantry wishes to extend a sincere thanks to the Town of Stacyville, without whose generosity the annual UVEC Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets would not be possible.
“We are so pleased that with the help of people in Stacyville the pantry can provide Thanksgiving baskets to folks who otherwise might not have had a very happy Thanksgiving,” said UVEC President Peter Qualey.
In Fall 2008, UVEC was designated as an Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) agent by the state of Maine. Since then, the food pantry has benefited 384 households in the towns of Benedicta, Crystal, Hersey, Island Falls, Oakfield, Patten, Sherman, Silver Ridge and Stacyville. The pantry distributes an average of 2,500 pounds of food each month to 120 people in 50 households in the northern Penobscot and southern Aroostook area.
The UVEC Food Pantry is located in the Sherman Municipal Building and opens on the second Tuesday of every month to provide emergency food assistance for individuals and families who need help in meeting the nutritional needs of their household.
More information about the UVEC Food Pantry is available online at www.uvecfoodpantry.org.
