AUGUSTA — Already at 7 a.m., cars are lined up out of the parking lot at the Augusta Food Bank.

The food bank doesn’t open for another two hours, but on Free Food Thursdays, the line of cars, full of families, often backs its way onto Mount Vernon Avenue.

Director Bob Moore only anticipates the line will get longer each week as costs around families increase.

“There have been several days where we served over 70 families and it’s only grown dramatically since we first started,” Moore said. “Now, in the transition from winter to summer and now with the rising costs of energy, gas and other costs, we are seeing a lot of new people.”

Hunger is an issue that is not going away any time soon and is a problem the state has faced long before the pandemic, Moore said. In Kennebec County, according to Good Shepherd Food Bank, there are estimated to be over 17,030 food insecure people, or 14% of the county.

“Food insecurity has not lessened and with the pandemic stretching another year, when stimulus checks ran out and inflation setting in has a lot to do with it,” he said. “We try to no matter how humbling it can be when they step over the food line, we are trying to take away with the feeling they have with it.”

The Augusta Food Bank is open by appointment only Monday through Wednesday and serves around 20 families, but is open to the public on Free Food Thursdays, where families can come, “shop” around for what they need, all for free.

Free Food Thursdays is a fairly new event at the Augusta Food Bank and started as a way to not only supply families and individuals with food, but to offer food in a grocery store-style as a way to “end the stigma” over receiving goods from a food bank. The food bank had clear two-door refrigerators installed, similar to what a grocery store has, to make it feel like a shopping experience.

Moore estimates in the first couple of months of Free Food Thursdays, the food bank would see around 40 families. Now, there is an average of 70 families who frequent the food bank, equaling around 225 individuals receiving food and meals. He said he regularly hears conversations from individuals who say they can now afford to put heat in their house because they can get their food from the Augusta Food Bank.

Dawn DiFiore, the director of community partnerships at Good Shepherd Food Bank, which partners with Augusta and other food banks, said she believes inflation and the higher price of gas is taking a toll on families and individuals.

“One of the first things we think about is food and how we can stretch our dollar at the grocery store,” she said. “It’s a necessity, we have to have it, but there are a lot of ‘have to haves,’ like gas — putting it in the car, or money for the bus. We are hearing from our partners that gas is impacting folks both on a volunteering basis and also impacting the patrons of the pantry and limiting their ability to get there.”

The average cost of gas in the state of Maine as of Friday was $4.10 a gallon, a cent under the national average according to AAA. A month ago, the average cost in the state for gas was $3.50 a gallon, which can make a difference for people whose paychecks are not increasing alongside gas prices, or people who are volunteering their time at the food bank.

The Preble Street resource center in Portland reports its food programs have seen a similar response as the Augusta Food Bank. Organizers saw a “big increase in need starting at the beginning of the pandemic” and they have changed their food programs to support it.

Moore said in general, if the number of families who rely on the food bank weekly increases, he doesn’t know what it would mean for the amount of food the pantry receives. Also, he is not sure how it might affect volunteers who may have to stay past their allotted time to make sure everyone is fed.

“We are not sure if we can get much higher or how we would be able to handle it, if we have enough food,” Moore said. “We had to close down a few times and block off areas with the cones at a quarter to 11 a.m., knowing we have half an hour left to go. Volunteers offer their time from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., but if we go into noon or 1 p.m., I’m not sure what we would do, of if we’d have enough surplus of food.”

The Augusta Food Bank received 850,000 pounds of food last year, worth about $1.4 million. Most of the donated food, around 75%, comes from retailers in the area, Moore said, like Target, Sam’s Club, Walmart and the Hannaford on Whitten Road. Another 20% of the food comes from neighbor organizations and the last 5% comes from community donations.

At the Augusta Food Bank, specifically, Moore said they served 40% children, offering Kid’s Packs to them on weekends, as well, 20% senior citizens and 40% adults, totaling around 250 households a month through the food bank’s different programs.

Moore does not believe the problem of food insecurity itself will be solved, and Difiore from Good Shepherd Food Bank tends to agree. But through community partnerships that allow organizations to put food in places where people visit, like hospitals and schools, Difiore said it can be a step toward combating hunger to the best of their ability.

“I don’t think there will be an end to people needing food,” but the impact of food insecurity can be lessened “if we can find the distribution lines and think outside the box,” Moore said. “People are still going to come here for food and if there was a way to do so in more manners, on a smaller scale each week instead of them driving here, the more stuff we can do.”

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