PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Graves’ Shop ’n Save is doing its part to help fight hunger locally.
The store, through a new program initiated by Hannaford Supermarkets, is selling reusable shopping bags, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen in Presque Isle.
According to Don Samiya, store manager, durable “Fight Hunger” shopping bags are now available in the checkout area. For each bag sold, Hannaford will donate 25 cents to Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen. The reusable bags are available for $1.29.
“As an independent, we’re allowed to choose our own soup kitchen/food bank and we chose Martha & Mary’s,” said Samiya. “As we sell these reusable bags, not only are we helping the environment, but we’re also helping out Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen.”
Thirty-seven bags were sold in July, while as of last Wednesday, 16 bags had been purchased in August.
“Hannaford keeps track through our point of sale system on how many bags we sell, and they send a check to Martha & Mary’s,” said Samiya. “It’s very convenient.
“As long as the program continues to be successful, we’ll continue to do it,” he said. “We’ve sold more than 50 bags, but we’re trying to get the word out and draw some attention to this. If people are going to buy a reusable bag, they might as well help out Martha & Mary’s at the same time.”
Cindy Patten, manager of the Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen, said she was thrilled to hear about the in-store promotion.
“Graves’ really helps us out a lot; they do everything that they possibly can do, so when they came up with this idea, I thought that was awesome,” she said. “It was just one more thing that they were going to do to help us. It’s wonderful. They’ve really been our lifeline and our anchor.”
While Martha & Mary’s receives a lot of its food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Patten said there are always things she needs to purchase.
“We have to buy our ground beef, margarine, napkins, and several other items,” she said. “Right now we’re down on canned vegetables, so we’re going to have to start buying those. Donations have gone down in the last year or two; I think everybody is struggling. We get people who donate money, and that’s how we make it work.”
The soup kitchen has been very busy as of late.
“Last Wednesday I put out 122 meals. One recent Monday we did 130 meals, so the need is definitely there,” said Patten. “There’s a lot of families that are coming in and getting meals for their family and taking it home. We serve meals there, and we have takeout available, as well. We have between 25-35 people that eat in, and the rest are families and older people that come in and take their meals home. The people are mostly from Presque Isle, but they come from all over. We also have food boxes that they can get once a month.
“We’re there for everybody. Nobody has to fill out paperwork, nobody has to ask questions, and I don’t need to hear anybody’s story,” she said. “If you tell us you need 10 meals, we give you 10 meals. We are there to serve the people and we give whatever they need.”
Martha & Mary’s Soup Kitchen, located at 21 Parsons St., is open from 2-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Meals are served at 3 p.m.
The beige, vinyl bags feature a knife and fork, a heart-shaped plate comprised of various food-related items, and the phrase, “This bag has helped feed someone in need.”
