Councilors voted this month to withdraw prior approval to for the pantry to lease town property.
HERMON, Maine — A food pantry in Hermon is searching for a new permanent location after town councilors decided to withdraw prior approval to lease town property.
Councilors voted this month to withdraw prior approval for Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Community Pantry to lease town property after concluding that “there is no definitive agreement obligating the town to allow the pantry to use the property.”
Councilors signed a resolve in 2014 agreeing to lease land to the food pantry on Billings Road, but a lease was never signed.
Carol Lackedy, volunteer director of the food pantry, was discouraged by the move.
“I felt it was a vote against what we are trying to do for the community,” Lackedy said.
Town councilors voiced concerns this month about the safety of the location due to limited road visibility.
“I don’t think it’s a safe place to have it,” Councilor Terry Hamm-Morris shared during their February meeting.
But some town councilors at the same meeting expressed their support to help Lackedy find another location.
“I want to take this opportunity to show my support as much as possible to the Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Food Pantry, whether that be a financial in-kind donation, assistance with labor, constructing a facility in the future, volunteering at public events or even assisting with your business model,” Councilor Christopher Gray said.
Steve Thomas, a former town councilor and longtime resident of Hermon, also pledged to help.
“What you’re seeing here, all of this, is all Carol’s work,” Thomas said. “I think with my background coming in, I’m trying to provide her guidance.”
But despite the uncertainty about where the food pantry will be headquartered next, Lackedy said she plans to continue serving the community.
“We’re going to keep on going, and we’ll be here for those people who really truly need us,” she said.
Neighbors Supporting Neighbors Community Pantry offers food and other necessities every other Friday at their distribution center located at the Penobscot Snowmobile Club on the Bog Road in Hermon.
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