Robert and his wife live in a rural area and needed reliable transportation, so they bought a car. Robert, 69, said he used to be able to purchase older vehicles and do his own repairs, but he’s had six heart bypasses and can no longer do so. Once the car is paid off, he said he hopes he and his wife won’t have to rely on the Sanford Food Pantry to supplement their grocery budget. The couple receive a few food stamps, he said, but he’s glad of the help from the local pantry.

“I was never one to take a handout,” said Robert, who retired after 30-plus years of work in the shoe shops and woolen mills. “But at the moment, I’m doing it.

“We shop carefully, cook a lot and don’t do fast food ”“ we can’t afford it,” said Robert, in recent interview. “If it wasn’t for this pantry, a lot (of people) would run out of food. If it were not for this place, a lot of senior citizens would go without.”

Louise and her husband have four children ”“ three of them teenage boys with healthy appetites. Her husband lost his job a couple of years ago and took another ”“ but it paid less. It was a rough period and the family concentrated on trying to keep their mortgage payments current so they wouldn’t lose their house. They relied on the Sanford Food Pantry to fill the gap when the $400 they budgeted monthly for food didn’t stretch far enough. Louise’s husband eventually got his old job back, but they’re still recovering financially from the period where he was unemployed and the six months he worked elsewhere for less. For a time, the family used food stamps to supplement their budget. Louise is an avid coupon clipper who watches the sales and relies on the food pantry to help.

“We were able to (keep) our house because of these wonderful people,” Louise said in an interview last week, jubilant that in 2012, all of their mortgage payments were made on time. “These folks helped fill in the gap.”

Whether in Sanford or Biddeford or elsewhere, food pantries are busy serving those like Louise and Robert, and the demand for food is growing, food pantry volunteers say.

At Stone Soup Food Pantry in Biddeford, co-director Kathy Duke said demand was particularly heavy this past Wednesday, and the pantry didn’t have enough fresh fruits and vegetables to keep up.

“We’re getting so many people ”¦ from all walks of life,” said Duke, who has volunteered with the pantry for 10 years. “If you’re not suffering (yourself), you wouldn’t believe how bad it is.”

Figures recently supplied by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services show 29,740 individuals in 15,767 cases county-wide received food supplement ”“ known informally as food stamps and more formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The county’s supplement is valued at $3.5 million for December 2012 alone. Even still, families find themselves in need of food ”“ some who receive food stamps and some who do not ”“ and look to food pantries for help.

At Stone Soup Food Pantry, Duke said the pantry served 7,676 families in 2012; 1,582 were repeat families who sought help more than once.

Becky Brandenberger, social service coordinator for the Salvation Army in Old Orchard Beach, oversees their emergency-only food pantry, which lately has seen a disheartening increase in the number of those seeking assistance.

“We had five new families come in one day, just last week,” said Brandenberger. “We’ve never had a day like that before. A lot of the people who have been coming in are not chronically poor, they’ve hit a rough patch.”

At York County Shelters Food Pantry on Shaker Hill in Alfred, Joan Sylvester said during one three-hour period two weeks ago, the pantry served 125 families. Sylvester was welcoming student representatives from Massabesic Middle School Thursday, who were making a welcome donation of 2,000 nonperishable food items they had collected.

In Sanford, food pantry co-treasurer and volunteer Carol Cail said despite some hefty donations ”“ among others, Sanford firefighters recently held a food drive that yielded 22 pick-up truck loads of food ”“ the pantry went out and bought canned products ”“ tuna fish, beef stew and baked beans, last week, among other foods.

“Even with all the food drives, we ran out,” Cail said.

The Sanford Food Pantry served 791 families in the second quarter of 2012, 884 in the third quarter and 981 families in the last quarter of 2012 ”“ steady growth.

“We’re seeing a lot more veterans,” Cail said, “and a lot more people over 65.”

Kristine Jenkins of Partners for a Hunger Free York County said a Farm Fresh Foods for Seniors program organized by her agency, farmers, the Southern Maine Agency on Aging and Huntington Charitable Fund provided farm shares for senior citizens.

“At summer’s close, we worried about what these seniors would do over the winter as many said that fruit and vegetables are now a luxury item they can’t afford,” Jenkins said. “We started a WinterShares fund and got a small award from Bank of America of $1,000 to kick us off ”“ and so far have a total of $1,685, including some community member donations.

“At the end of February, we are going to give gift cards for produce purchases to as many of the over 300 seniors who took part in our FFFS program as we can afford.”

She said Partners for a Hunger Free York County is urging folks to remember to “show their love” for their neighbors on Valentine’s Day and throughout February by supporting a food pantry.

Food pantry volunteers say donations will be welcome.

“Every day we’re open, we can’t believe how many people come in,” said Duke at Stone Soup. “We can’t open more days, because we don’t have enough funds or food. We all do the best we can.”

 — The Journal Tribune agreed to withhold publication of full names for food pantry recipients quoted in this story. Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse contributed to this report. Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.