Customers who stop by the Maine Bean Bakehouse & Deli in Windham for a sandwich or a cup of coffee may end up helping a neighbor stay warm this winter.

Starting last month, the popular Route 302 restaurant began accepting tips at the front counter. But instead of pocketing the extra cash themselves, the employees decided to donate the funds to the Windham Food Pantry, which will dole out the money to residents struggling to buy heating oil.

At the end of the July, Maine Bean manager Michelle Guilford wrote a check for $850 to the food pantry, and around $400 more has been raised in August.

The tip jar appeared after a number of regular customers complained about the restaurant’s policy of not taking tips, said Guilford.

“We got together with a few of the full-time employees to see what we were going to do about the complaints,” she said. “We decided to take tips but to donate them to a charity instead.”

Maine Bean employees help in a similar way in November and December, when they collect money for the town’s Christmas fund, which helps buy gifts for children in need. That drive will continue, but employees wanted to do something now to lend a hand to residents worried about rising heating oil costs. The restaurant will collect tips for the fund through October, Guilford said.

“We felt this year that the heating issue was going to be a big issue for everybody,” she said.

Guilford contacted Madeline Roberts at the food pantry, who warmed to the idea right away.

A separate town account for the money donated by Maine Bean customers was established, and the account will be administered through the general assistance program. The qualifications for the program, however, will be less stringent than general assistance so that more people can take advantage, Roberts said.

“If they don’t qualify (for general assistance) we’ll be able to help them,” she said. “It might be two working people from a family that just can’t swing the extra money.”

Guilford hopes other local businesses start a similar program.

“It would be nice to challenge other businesses to get in and meet or beat us,” she said.

Roberts said Windham business owners have a tradition of helping out their neighbors, and a lot of them contribute to the Christmas fund. The town, she said, got a lot of requests for help last year, and it is only going to get worse.

“This year, I think it is going to far surpass last year,” said Roberts.

For more information on the program, or to donate, call Roberts at 892-1931.

Money in the tip jar Maine Bean Bakehouse & Deli employee Lindsey Shannon holds will go to a heating oil fund for Windham residents. The Windham deli will collect money though October and turn it over to the Windham Food Pantry for distribution.