By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter
 It required 10 trips to deliver all the food collected by the Sanford Fire Department to the Sanford/Springvale Food Pantry.       Sanford firefighters and call department firefighters collected food in front of the Sanford’s two major grocery stores during the Dec. 8 and 9 food drive.
   Sanford Fire Department Lt. Harold Smith said he was very happy with the generosity of people. Smith said people are “really struggling” to make ends meet with gas and heating oil prices so high and he was pleased to see so many people donating food.
   Sanford Fire Department Chief Ray Parent said the food drive was the idea of Capt. Steve Guillemette of the Sanford Call Fire Department.
   “He’s involved with the Knights of Columbus and he heard the pantry was low,” Parent said. “He came in here and asked if there was something we could do to help.”
   Sanford Career Fire Department Lt. Scott Lizotte, who is also a Local Union 1624 member, jumped on board with the idea.
   “Those two ran off with it,” Parent said. “They did all the legwork, they made schedules."
   Parent said the firefighters delivered the collected food in 10 loads.
   “Sometimes the back of the truck was piled up, other times just the truck bed was full,” Parent said.
   He said $2,700 in cash was also collected and about $800 of the collected money was one-dollar bills.
   “Even though some people couldn’t donate a large amount of money, it added up significantly,” Parent said. “Those small donations do add up.”
   Parent said the Local Union 1624 will also contribute $1,000 to the food pantry and the Sanford Springvale Call Firefighters Association will add $1,000 to the pot.
   Assistant Fire Chief Rowe said the drive was a huge success.
  “People of Sanford opened and contributed greatly,” Rowe said.
   Parent said there is talk about doing another drive next year.
   “It was exceptional. It was wonderful,” he said.   
   Marie Clancy, who runs the Sanford Springvale Food Pantry said she had not seen the food but, “they told me I have a lot of food.”
   “We had no food. None. It was terrible,” she said.
  She said there is sometimes confusion about where donations go. The York County Shelters nor the Salvation Army support the Sanford Food Pantry.
    Clancy said the pantry opened for two hours a couple of weeks ago.
   “We had 41 families come,” she said. “That’s 115 people in two hours. It’s not getting better out there. It’s getting worse.”  
   The pantry only serves residents of Sanford and Springvale and follows stringent guidelines.
   “We don’t have enough food to go around,” she said. “All the pantries are running out of food.”
   A photo ID must accompany the application, she said, and residents may go to the pantry once a month. Clancy also said a social security card must be presented for each person in a household who is requesting food.
  The pantry gives staple items such as spaghetti sauce, tuna, pasta, soups and other items to make a meal.
  She said donations are always welcome.