Staff Writer

 Kathy Duke stood in front of her nearly empty pantry, her only dinner option a jar of baby food peas or carrots.

She fed the carrots to her 6-month-old daughter and ate the peas herself, a moment of desperation she cannot forget. She has not eaten a pea since.

Fifty years later, Duke directs the Stone Soup Food Pantry and watches twice a week as families in similar positions walk through the door, looking for food. Pantry organizers say the need continues to increase as more Mainers struggle to find jobs that pay enough to support a family.

National statistics released last week show the number of American living in poverty has increased, a fact that comes as no surprise to volunteers who run the pantry on Main Street in Biddeford. More and more people show up at the door each week looking for help.

And the need doesn’t stop there. School officials say nearly half of Biddeford students qualify for free or reduced lunch and programs have been established to provide children with weather-appropriate clothing. At city hall, the number of homeless people looking for assistance is on the rise.

The U.S. Census Bureau last week announced the nation’s official poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008. This was the second significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004. There were 43.6 million people in poverty in the country in 2009, up from 39.8 million people in 2008.

Maine’s poverty rate for 2009 was 11.4 percent, a slight decrease from 12 percent in 2008. The poverty rate is 9.4 percent in York County and 10.4 percent in Cumberland County. Last year 148,000 Mainers lived below the poverty line. A family of four that earns less than $22,050 is considered to be living in poverty.

Duke, who directs the pantry with Helen Lewis, said patrons increasingly are people who have never had to ask for assistance before and previously donated to food drives. Lewis said more and more families are combining their households, moving into smaller spaces to cut back on costs and trying to keep their heads above water.

“I’ve had people cry because they don’t want to be here,” Lewis said. “We have people come here from other towns because they’re embarrassed to go in for help in their own town.”

Scott Wood, a pantry board member, said the pantry served fewer than 2,500 families in 2007, “before the economy tanked.” In 2008, 4,999 families went to the pantry and nearly 6,000 families sought food in 2009. The pantry has served about 4,000 families to date this year and Wood expects the number to meet or exceed last year’s total.

“We’re in the business of feeding people, that’s where our heart is,” Lewis said. “But it goes fast.”

The pantry relies on food drives and donations. Weekly food deliveries from businesses such as Ray’s Market, Hannaford Bros., Shaw’s, B.J’s, 7-11, Longhorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden provide meat, baked goods, fresh fruit and vegetables and other staples. The pantry also receives food from York County Food Rescue.

Still, said Duke, that’s barely enough to serve the needs of the community. Lewis calls Duke the “number one beggar” and credits her persistence with bringing in donations to buy food and cover operational expenses. The pantry’s expenses – including rent, electricity, gas and insurance – total $4,000 a month.

Duke said she would like to consolidate the pantry into one building with other non-profit organizations such as the Bon Appetit Meals Program in Biddeford. The pantry moved to its current location three years ago, which was supposed to be temporary. Duke said the pantry has spent $75,000 in rent since then.

Though Duke and Lewis would like to move, their main focus remains on feeding people who are hungry. Their busiest weeks are the ones before food stamps come out. Wood said the pantry is designed to supplement families’ food, but is often the only source of food for people who “fall between the cracks.”

“When you have to make a choice between lights, heat and food, at least the pantry can help alleviate the food worry,” he said. “We will find somebody who can help with whatever your other problem is.”

Vicky Edgerly, general assistance administrator and health officer for the city of Biddeford, said September generally brings an increase in the number of people looking for assistance. This year is no exception.

“We’ve had a huge influx of people stating they’re homeless,” she said. “A lot of them are hoping they can get an instant subsidy.”

In 2009, Edgerly’s office had 4,859 contacts with people asking about assistance; 660 appointments were scheduled with people likely to qualify. She said many people come to her office looking for help with rent, electric and heat bills. Staff frequently refer people to Stone Soup and the In-A-Pinch Non-food Pantry, which distributes items such as toilet paper and soap.

“People are discouraged. We’re finding there are still jobs out there,” she said. “But when they’re working, the jobs don’t pay enough to pay the bills.”

About half of Biddeford’s students are living in poverty, according to Biddeford Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jeff Porter. He bases his estimate on the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

About 47 percent of the district’s 2,685 students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2009, according to the Maine Department of Education. In Regional School Unit 23, which includes Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach, 40.4 percent of students qualify. According to department statistics, 34.76 percent of students in York County and about 43 percent of students in Maine qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Porter said the district does a number of things to help students who struggle with poverty, that include offering after-school and summer programs to help with reading and math. The city’s four elementary and middle schools split $1 million a year in Title I funds for the programs, which provide supplemental support and staff. Porter said about 400 students participate each year.

The Kathleen Gavin Helping Hands Fund at Biddeford Primary School provides clothing, gloves, winter hats and shoes to students who come to school without the items they need, Porter said. Teachers, social workers and guidance counselors do an “excellent job” keeping tabs on students and finding them help as they need it, Porter said.

Last year, district staff took part in professional training to help them better understand the issues students and families of poverty face. All staff members also read and discussed “A Framework of Poverty” by Ruth K. Payne.

“It was very eye-opening to understand more about poverty and where the kids are coming from,” Porter said. “School is important, but some kids may not be ready because of what’s going on at home. It’s hard to be excited about learning if they haven’t had dinner or breakfast.”

If Duke and Lewis had their way, no more children would go to school hungry. On the days the pantry is closed, Duke’s home phone rings off the hook with people looking for just enough food to get by.

“What bothers me is the look in people’s eyes, the not knowing what to do, the lost look,” Duke said.

As patrons and volunteers filtered through the pantry Monday morning, Duke, Lewis and Wood helped carry boxes of donated pastries and bread from local restaurants. As the last patrons left with bags of canned tuna and beans, fresh fruit and loaves of bread, the shelves were nearly bare and volunteers started the process of restocking in preparation for a new line of people Wednesday morning.

“If all of us weren’t doing what we’re doing, we’d have no idea what is going on out there,” Duke said.

“People don’t want to see this, they don’t want to acknowledge it,” Lewis added, gesturing to the line of people waiting for food. “But hunger is here and somebody’s got to do something.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.