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Volunteers Claudia Grivois (left) and Lydia Martin work together to load cars with boxes and bags of food. (Hannah Catlin | St. John Valley TImes)
Volunteers Claudia Grivois (left) and Lydia Martin work together to load cars with boxes and bags of food. (Hannah Catlin | St. John Valley TImes)
Van Buren pantry brings joy to the fight against food insecurity
St. Peter Chanel Pantry in Van Buren has seen the number of families it serves double since the pandemic from 130 at the start of 2020 to an average of 240 now.
VAN BUREN, Maine — On a bleak day in Van Buren, St. Peter Chanel Pantry Director Nancy Dumond Violette was walking up and down the sidewalk in the freezing rain, singing gospel songs. Dumond Violette and a dozen volunteers were performing the pantry’s monthly food distribution, which has been curbside for exactly one year, since Covid-19 first gripped the world last spring.