Larry Lemieux, left, and Carl McKeil, standing next to the pantry’s cargo van used for food pickups and deliveries. (contributed photo)
As with many great ideas, the China Community Food Pantry began with a simple conversation. In October 1992, when Lee and Ann Austin were renovating the first level of their lodge, a couple came to the door by the name of Jeremiah and Lynn.
“We’d never seen them before,” Ann recalls. “They told us God said we were supposed to start a food pantry in China. We said, ‘Oh.'”
That was quite an audacious statement for near-strangers to blurt out. But Lee and Ann, both being rational, civic-minded people, mulled it over for a while and thought the idea had some merit. Was this a God moment or an act of fate, who knows? What the Austins knew for certain was the area needed a food pantry – at the time, the only food pantries in Maine were housed in local churches.
This conversation sparked the beginning of the China Community Food Pantry, 32 years ago, in the green and brown shingled building that had once been the lodge of the Willow Beach Camps Resort.
The Austins’ instinct proved well-timed – Maine was in the grip of a significant economic downturn. In the early 1990s, based on available records from the University of Maine 1, the state was experiencing a significant economic downturn that directly impacted food security. The statewide poverty rate increased from 10.8 percent in 1989 to 14.1 percent by 1991. Real median family income in the state declined from $30,998 to $27,868. Childhood food insecurity affected 15.7 percent of all children under five in Maine in 1992. The need for emergency food was significant enough that then-Governor John R. McKernan Jr. designated the week of October 28, 1992, as Maine Ending Hunger Week.
The Austins built the pantry on a simple philosophy: neighbors helping neighbors. “When somebody’s in need, their neighbors help them out,” Ann explains. “And when they get back on their feet, they help somebody else.”
In those early years, both a dedicated core group of volunteers and clients grew quickly for the fledgling food pantry. Recipients of the food came from beyond the Town of China, including residents of nearby communities. The Austins reached out for reliable sources of donated food. Hannaford’s changed their corporate policy to allow them to donate food instead of allowing tons of it to go to waste. The Good Shepherd Food Bank, based in Lewiston, brought up food to fill the needs of the China pantry’s growing client base. Lee Austin helped share the knowledge he and Ann learned about setting up a community food pantry to the towns of Palermo, Albion, Windsor and Vassalboro. The community food pantry movement grew across the state, filling a well-documented need.
How China Community Food Pantry adapted to change
Over the years, the China Community Food Pantry has adapted to emergencies and changing needs. In March 2020, the pantry quickly established protocols to react to the COVID-19 medical emergency to protect their volunteers and customers. They provided pre-made food boxes that the volunteers delivered directly to the customers’ cars. This system not only cut down the spread of COVID, it turned out to be very efficient so it is still in place today.
Pets joined the list of recipients when a generous China resident began donating pet food regularly. Now others have also stepped up to donate dog and cat food. Periodically, a request for pet food is posted on the Friends of China Facebook page.
In 2019, the food pantry purchased a used cargo van, funded entirely through donations. This vehicle is driven by volunteers to local grocery stores and farms to provide greater access to food.
Most recently, the pantry has adapted to serve an increase in clients due to the uncertainty of the SNAP program, cuts to federal funding and rising food costs. With the uncertainty of the economy, the pantry will be ready to face what is up ahead, especially with the support of community members, farmers and businesses.
What’s the next chapter for the China Community Food Pantry?
It has been ten years since Ann took over as the head of China Community Food Pantry after her husband, Lee, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2016. The work is never-ending even with a robust group of loyal volunteers.
Just as the China Community Food Pantry began from a conversation, the pantry’s next chapter did as well. Ann’s family came to her and thought there should be a plan in place to position the pantry for the future and provide Ann with some well-deserved help. Ann was thinking along the same lines. She said she had a great group of loyal volunteers, some who were retirees from business careers, who she trusted as board members.
In the summer of 2025, the China Community Food Pantry was legally reorganized as a public charity 501(c)(3) with officers and a board of directors.
Officers: President Tom Parent, Vice President Cindi Orlando, Treasurer Jane Robertson, Secretary Donna Loveland, and Operations Officer Ann Austin.
Board of Directors: Jean Dempster, Nancy Lemieux, Larry Lemieux, and William Robertson.
The China Community Food Pantry is open noon – 1 p.m., Friday and Saturday, at 1320 Lakeview Drive. Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 6012, China Village, ME 04926.
The next step to provide a stable future for the pantry is for the board to find a new location. For over 30 years, the Austins have graciously provided housing for the pantry and its operation within their home at no cost, except for electricity.
President Tom Parent explained, “Options are limited in China, but we do have a few locations that we are exploring. While renting is an option, doing so would substantially increase our annual budget by about three-fold, from about $15,000 to about $45,000 per year, or more. Long-term lease agreements for 3-5 years would be difficult without a guaranteed revenue stream to cover rent. The pantry acquires about $15,000 per year from donations. There has not been any government funding of any form.”
The need for a food pantry in the China area is greater than ever
The food pantry serves an average of 75 families per week with a total of 125 families affected throughout the course of a year. These families are comprised of about 260 people of all ages, with the majority being elderly and children. They have about 30 regular, reliable and committed volunteers doing the work, and there is no compensation to anyone for this entire operation.
Food insecurity is still nearly as high as it was 30 years ago with the recent cuts to federal programs and the uncertainty in our economy. Maine’s percentage of the population who face food insecurity is at the nation’s average of 12.2 percent according to the USDA Economic Research Service Data of 2023 [2]. Almost one in three Maine seniors face hunger or threats of hunger when their fixed income doesn’t stretch far enough or when their budget is thrown off by a large medical or heating bill.
After more than three decades, Ann Austin is ready to step back – but not away. “I tell people, ‘I’m working myself out of a job here,'” she says with a laugh. What gives her confidence is knowing the pantry’s founding philosophy will endure. “Our volunteers share the same vision Lee and I started with: neighbors helping neighbors.”
Until a new location is found, the China Community Food Pantry is open noon – 1 p.m., Friday and Saturday, at 1320 Lakeview Drive. Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 6012, China Village, ME 04926.
Sources:
[1] Identifying childhood hunger in Maine Maine Policy Review (1993). Volume 2, Number 2 by Deirdre Mageean Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy University of Maine
[2] Food Security in the U.S. – Key Statistics & Graphics | Economic Research Service.
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