FARMINGTON – Over the last ten years, the Care and Share Food Closet has grown from a small operation with just one residential refrigerator to a much larger organization with a half dozen fridges and freezers, along with two walk-in fridges, serving families all across Franklin County. The organization is still staffed and led entirely by volunteers.
Many members of the Care and Share Food Closet board attribute this growth and success to former Board Chair and Director Leiza Hiltz Scerbo, who began volunteering at the food pantry in 2014.
Leiza’s history with volunteering and community service began when she was a child. On visits to family in Boston, her grandmother Emma would shop for clothing at discount stores, then include gold coins in the bags of clothing items she donated. Emma often told Leiza that the people who received the clothes and surprise gifts were in need more than their family, and that she could give without anyone knowing.
Leiza’s other grandmother, Ruth, who lived in Chesterville, would deliver food and toys to those in need, and took Leiza along on those trips.
Leiza’s parents embraced the concept of giving back and meeting the needs of the community while preserving the dignity of those they served. Her mother ran ‘Fawn’s Thrift Shop’ on Lower Main Street in Farmington, and her father purchased work clothes and boots in Boston to sell in the shop. They sometimes sold items for much less than they originally purchased it for, if the need arose. Leiza’s mother said that sometimes the customers couldn’t pay more than a nickel or dime for an item but by selling it at the price the customer could pay, they could save the customer’s dignity.
Her father, Ray, also served as a selectman for Industry. In the 1980s and 1990s Leiza worked alongside her father to create and run a food pantry, called ‘The Foodbank of the Mills’, which was first run out of Ray’s basement and then moved to the town hall while the family was involved.
Leiza also served as the Farmington area representative for the Salvation Army, collecting and distributing coats, hats, and mittens throughout the area, managing the giving tree at Christmas time, and helping victims of a fire get set up with a hotel room and essential items after such a devastating event. Following the family’s tradition, Leiza brought her son, Christopher Scerbo, along with her for much of this work.
In 2014 when her fiance Jerry Allen invited her to volunteer at Care and Share Food Closet in Farmington with his mother Judy Allen, she joined in. A couple hours a week turned into nearly a full decade of dedication and commitment to the food closet. Leiza was invited to join the Board of Directors by Carolyn McLaughlin, and later became the chair of the board. Leiza worked to incorporate the food closet as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity and a registered charitable organization in Maine.
Under Leiza’s guidance and with the help of an active and dedicated board, the food closet increased service hours, the area of service, and the capacity. Leiza wrote grants which allowed the food closet to expand from just two small rooms and a fridge in the basement of the old Fairbanks School Meeting House, to now occupying the entire basement floor of the Meeting House. Stainless steel food prep counters provide work spaces that can be sanitized and cleaned properly. Walk-in fridges allow them to store bulk orders of fresh produce and baked goods, while an impressive array of smaller fridges and freezers store more produce, meat, dairy products, and premade meals.
Leiza retired from her active leadership role in October 2023, and was recently recognized by the board for her incredible service and her role in moving the organization forward.
Care and Share Food Closet partners with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which oversees food pantries in Maine. This partnership allows them to purchase bulk foods at a discount to provide food essentials to families. Good Shepherd also hosts a food safety training course; all of the current volunteers with Care and Share Food Closet have been certified through this food safety course. Care and Share orders around 10,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each month.
In addition, the food closet receives donations from Hannaford, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Big Lots. These items may be food that is close to the sell-by date so volunteers sort through the foods and try to give out perishables in a timely manner. Food items that are not suitable for distribution don’t go to waste, however; those items are sent to a board member’s farm to feed the pigs, which are then sold as a fundraiser for the food closet.
Care and Share also supports the St. Joseph Nutrition Center, which has a walk-in, self-service food pantry open daily in downtown Farmington near the college campus.
Inflation and rising costs mean there are more people that need the extra help from the food pantry, and less available resources to meet those needs. Care and Share board member Dennis Croteau said that support from local businesses and members of the community is essential in allowing them to make the purchases necessary to keep food on the shelves and in homes in the community. “That’s what makes it work,” Croteau said. “Volunteers and the public.”
“It’s not just the big donors,” Leiza added. “All these little ones add up too.” She said that one of the most heart-warming experiences is seeing families who she knows don’t have much make a five or ten dollar donation to the food pantry as a way to give back.
The food closet is staffed and led entirely by volunteers. Many of the folks who volunteer do so because it is an opportunity to see people, enjoy some social activity, and feel good about what they’ve done at the end of the day.
Care and Share Food Closet serves approximately 750 families in Franklin County each month. Families go through an application process and can then pick up a box of fresh foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, and baked goods each week, and a box of shelf-stable foods and frozen meat once a month. Guests drive up and park outside, and volunteers deliver the boxes of food directly to their car. Food items vary week by week, depending on what is available; if it’s a lean week, everyone gets a little less. When there’s more, everyone gets more.
“They can expect to be greeted with a smile,” Care and Share President Sue French said.
Care and Share Food Closet is always looking for volunteers, and more information on ways to help can be found on the website and the new Facebook page.
