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News Center Maine’s Christian Harsa takes a look at Maine Savings FCU’s meaningful contribution to bring new life to the Hampden Neighborhood Food Cupboard. Maine Savings bought the church where the food pantry is housed and has been renovating it into a new space.
(From News Center Maine) – Not many people can say they have had the idea to buy a church, yet that is exactly what the President and CEO of Maine Savings FCU thought one day.
“I was driving through town and saw a ‘for sale’ sign in front of what was then the Hampden Congregational Church,” Vanessa Madore, Chief Executive of the Hampden-based federal credit union, said. That sign gave her a thought she brought before her leadership board.
“I said, ‘I have an idea. I think we should buy a church,'” Madore recalled.
Maine Savings bought the church in August 2023 and has been renovating it into a new space. The reason Madore and the credit union have worked to give the 190-year-old church new life is, in part, because of the Hampden Neighborhood Food Cupboard.
The food pantry serves Hampden, Newport, Frankfort, and Winterport, and has called the church home for over three decades. When the church went up for sale, Director Sue Hahn worried that her pantry would need to relocate.
“I investigated pretty much every empty lot in the center of Hampden and was preparing for a capital campaign to build a new facility,” Hahn said.
Instead of fundraising for a new space, the food cupboard got a full renovation funded by Maine Savings. The updated space features an elevator, walk-in refrigerator, and Hahn’s favorite: new windows and better lighting.
The improvements come at a time when the pantry is seeing more Mainers seeking help.
“We have experienced a significant increase this year,” said Hahn, estimating demand is up 15 percent since January. “New families, families that hadn’t been here in a long time.”
The cupboard serves 90 families, and another 90 children are in the backpack program. Concerns that federal funding for SNAP and EBT food assistance programs will go away are driving more people to the pantry, Hahn says.
Hampden Neighborhood Food Cupboard distributes primarily fresh produce and does not restrict who comes and how often they visit.
While canned, non-perishable donations are always welcomed, Hahn says her pantry can leverage monetary donations through partnerships. For instance, through Good Shepherd Food Bank, Hahn can purchase slightly damaged goods at just 16 cents a pound.
“Bent cereal boxes, bent granola boxes, things where the contents are not harmed at all. So, it’s a tremendous money [saver],” Hahn said.
Maine Savings is currently renovating the church into a community center that will be open for the public to use. It is also turning part of the space into training and HR offices for the credit union.
The rest of the church is for the food cupboard at a rent of $1 a year.
“We never imagined a scenario this wonderful,” Hahn said.