Shannon Glover (left) explains her plan for a soup kitchen this fall in Mexico as Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day looks on. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

MEXICO — Shannon Glover, who is the pantry manager with the Old School Food Pantry at 115 Maine Ave. in Rumford, would like to start a soup kitchen in Mexico.

Following her presentation, the Select Board agreed April 4 gave permission for the soup kitchen to start in the fall (as soon as August) on a trial period basis to see how it goes.

It will take place in the Calvin Lyons Meeting Room, located downstairs in the Mexico Town Office. Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day said they won’t be concerned about a use charge as long as they clean up after.

The Greater Rumford Area Ministers Pantry Service (GRAMPS), which provided meals to the community at this location for 27 years, closed in 2019.
Glover said the soup kitchen would be open every other week, and expected to serve between 30 and 40 people. There would be no stored food at the premises.

As for why she’s waiting until fall, Glover said, “With summer and nicer weather coming, I’ve lost a few of my volunteers. So rather than set ourselves up for failure, I’d like to start this closer to the fall, when I have more consistent volunteers. When I have a better idea of when, I’ll definitely share this with Raquel.”

Glover then shared another project being proposed in the Rumford-Mexico area, called a wood bank. She said Bethel and Woodstock, as well as places all over New England, have these.

“When I spoke to people who are running them, they say how beneficial they are and how great people are in donating the wood, but that people volunteer to split it and deliver,” said Glover, adding that running this program would be Gary Dolloff and herself at the start.

She said this works similar to a food bank, which supplies food to individuals experiencing food insecurities. “A wood bank supplies wood to people who might not be able to sustain themselves through the winter.”

Glover said, “I’m not saying I’m going to deliver two cords of wood every three months and sustain them all winter. But I’m saying when you see the post on Facebook, usually by Gary Dolloff, who’s really good on outreach, might say an elderly family in dire need of wood. Can anybody help?”

She said the wood would already be cut, split and stocked before, “and we would just take it from the wood bank, all to a family in need at no cost.”
Glover said Region 9 has a building program, where students are building the wood shed for the wood bank program. A lot of the wood they’re using to build it has been donated locally. The size will be 10 by 9 by 7 or 8 feet. “It’s a pretty decent size, but not overwhelming size.”

The biggest question is where to put the wood bank. “I need a location. I’m looking at the best option. It needs to be large enough where logs can be placed and cut.”