Hoping to fill a hole in community services caused by a growing demand for food assistance, the Congregational Church of Gray is opening a food pantry.

The pantry will be housed in the Parish House, behind McDonald’s in the heart of Gray Village, and will be open the first and third Friday of the month from 2 to 5 p.m. starting Friday, March 6, said organizer Judy Burnham. The Community Auxiliary Food Pantry, as it is being called, is designed to augment the aid provided through the town by the Gray Food Pantry, she said.

“It’s an auxiliary food pantry. It is not the Gray Food Pantry, which is still going strong. The Gray Food Pantry is still the first option,” said Burnham.

In order to use the Gray Food Pantry, a person must be approved through General Assistance, which if it is not an emergency may take a while, Burnham said. She offered the example of one woman who was hurt and out of work for six to eight weeks.

“By the time she applied for assistance, she’d be back at work,” said Burnham. “The town has to follow certain guidelines, but we don’t at the church.”

Helen Taylor at the Gray Food Pantry said people in an emergency are offered help right away. But the demand for supplemental food has increased over the last few months, and another provider is welcome. Regardless of where they go initially, people in need should fill out a General Assistance application at the town office, which clears the way for other support, like that for fuel, Taylor said.

“It’s possible that they are eligible for other services,” she said.

People in need of aid can come by the church for aid and be helped immediately, Burnham said. She expects they will encounter residents with a wide range of problems and difficulties.

“Some people will be forever, some will just be a few weeks,” Burnham said.

When the situations of those residents who use the pantry improve, Burnham hopes they will give back a little.

“We are asking them to donate back either time or money once they get in better circumstances,” she said.