L to R: Aaron Awbrey, Chief Lending Officer at Kennebunk Savings, Fair Tide Board of Directors; Liz Torrance, Social Responsibility Director at Kennebunk Savings; Tim Jacobs, Market Manager for Footprints Food Pantry; and Emily Flinkstrom, Executive Director of Fair Tide and Co-Founder of Mainspring
We recently had a regularly scheduled, informational meeting with our partners at Mainspring in Kittery. But as you might have read in the local news, they are seeing a sudden surge in demand for food, fuel assistance and other social services for Shipyard families. This is a difficult time for families in our area, and we wanted to help. So we showed up to that meeting with 200 lbs of groceries and a surprise check for $10,000!
According to Seacoast Online, because “the overwhelming majority of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workforce is exempted from the furlough by the Department of Defense,” over 7,000 members of our community are currently working without pay. The reduction of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as of Nov. 1st is exacerbating the community’s fears as colder weather looms.
Mainspring officially opened in 2024. We supported the construction of that facility with a $100,000 donation. Mainspring provides access to multiple community organizations and services under one roof, including the Footprints Food Pantry, Fair Tide’s housing support services, recovery services through the Triangle Club, and much more. Footprints Food Pantry has seen a 67% year-over-year increase in new households visiting the pantry since the beginning of October.
Mainspring is located at 22 Shapleigh Road in Kittery, and can be reached by phone at 207-439-0246.
