“We all need help at times” was the message on our rack cards that launched the Castine Area Relief Fund (“CARF”) as it was becoming apparent the Covid 19 pandemic was impacting local families in a significant and ongoing way. The immediate need from CARF is weekly food distributions, but as the pandemic continued and the end of winter was in sight, we feared that rent abatements and utility payment deferrals will place yet another burden on area families. The overarching mission of CARF is to alleviate basic life insecurities in families in the Castine area- Castine, Penobscot, Orland, Blue Hill.
In mid-March, as the negative economic effects of what is now known as COVID 19 were being felt by families in the Castine area, a group of individuals, including members of our church and the Town Manager, met via Zoom to discuss what might be done to assist our neighbors and friends. Since our volunteers delivered the first grocery boxes over two years ago, we have delivered over 2,300 bags of groceries, equivalent to almost 35,000 individual meals.
Working with the local market, a system was developed whereby the grocer was told on Tuesday how many bags would be necessary on Friday to be delivered by volunteers. (This regular purchase of food also had the secondary benefit of allowing Todd, the owner of T&C Market, to build back staff hours for several of his employees, who might otherwise have been recipients of these same groceries.) Through our volunteers and our Community Navigator (a program funded by a local church; more at communitycompassdowneast.org), we keep contact with these families directly and through referring organizations.
The Town of Castine made an initial contribution of $2000, and a pair of local churches each gave $1500. With the benefit of only word-of-mouth publicity, this fund grew to over $65,000. Not only local residents, but also many who call the area home in the summer, contributed significant financial support. Because of the significance of this food delivery ministry, we have been awarded grants of over $16,000 to continue this work.
In mid-March, as the negative economic effects of what is now known as COVID 19 were being felt by families in the Castine area, a group of individuals, including members of our church and the Town Manager, met via Zoom to discuss what might be done to assist our neighbors and friends. Since our volunteers delivered the first grocery boxes over two years ago, we have delivered over 2,300 bags of groceries, equivalent to almost 35,000 individual meals.
Working with the local market, a system was developed whereby the grocer was told on Tuesday how many bags would be necessary on Friday to be delivered by volunteers. (This regular purchase of food also had the secondary benefit of allowing Todd, the owner of T&C Market, to build back staff hours for several of his employees, who might otherwise have been recipients of these same groceries.) Through our volunteers and our Community Navigator (a program funded by a local church; more at communitycompassdowneast.org), we keep contact with these families directly and through referring organizations.
The Town of Castine made an initial contribution of $2000, and a pair of local churches each gave $1500. With the benefit of only word-of-mouth publicity, this fund grew to over $65,000. Not only local residents, but also many who call the area home in the summer, contributed significant financial support. Because of the significance of this food delivery ministry, we have been awarded grants of over $16,000 to continue this work.