The lines are getting longer at the South Portland Food Cupboard, which saw a 33% increase in recipients in the first week of March. Drew Johnson / The Forecaster

The South Portland Food Cupboard reeled in nearly 19,000 pounds of food this month through its third annual Battle of the Neighborhoods drive, which pits the city’s neighborhoods against each other to see who can donate the most.

The Loveitt’s Field/Willard Beach team, which placed second in the contest in 2022, moved up to first place this year with 4,053 pounds of food donated. In second was Ocean Street with 2,824 pounds and in third was Sunset Park, which won in the previous two years, with 2,345 pounds.

Between its partnerships with local nonprofits, grocery stores, sporadic local food drives and individual donors, the Food Cupboard usually receives about 40,000 pounds of food per month.

“The 19,000 pounds is almost a 50% bump in a month, which is critically important this time of year when donations are lower,” said Laurel LaBauve, vice president of the Food Cupboard’s board of directors.

The South Portland Food Cupboard’s miscellaneous section had plenty to offer Tuesday after the Battle of the Neighborhoods drive brought in nearly 19,000 pounds of food. Drew Johnson / The Forecaster

But even with the big bump, the food is expected to go fast during weekly Tuesday and Thursday and once-a-month Wednesday distributions. Amid the rising cost of food prices, the Food Cupboard saw a 33% increase in Tuesday recipients in the first week of March, LaBauve said, which was when supplemental pandemic funding of SNAP benefits ended. That week, the number of families being served on Tuesdays jumped from an average 46 to 62.

“We have seen an immediate jump,” LaBauve said, and the Food Cupboard is bracing itself for “the new normal number of recipients that are breaking records each week.”

Last year’s Battle of the Neighborhoods brought in 15,000 pounds of food estimated then to last through that May or even June. The donations from this year’s drive will likely last through April, perhaps into May, said Jim Welch, warehouse manager.

The facility on Thadeus Street was buzzing Tuesday morning as volunteers bustled around, organizing produce and moving boxes upon boxes of food to a big white tent outside.

Distribution on Tuesday starts at 10 a.m. and people were already arriving at the Food Cupboard a half-hour before. A young child was given a stuffed animal to help her cope with the boredom of the long wait – the Food Cupboard has a box of them for these instances.

At 10 a.m., volunteers welcomed recipients into the tent and guided them through what they had to offer that day. Parents debated what items their children would like most, seniors carefully browsed to ensure they don’t miss a buried treasure, and volunteers aided those unable to gather and load their selections into their vehicles alone.

Roughly 45 minutes after distribution started, there was still a line out the door.

Many recipients’ eyes lit up when they reached the “miscellaneous section,” which had plenty to offer Tuesday thanks to the recent drive – from frozen pizzas and taco kits to chicken fries and bacon.

“Stuffed olives, anchovies,” Welch said. “Those are things that are not part of my diet, but there are other people that just love to see them. That is something that is special.”

Started in the midst of the pandemic, the Battle of the Neighborhoods month-long drive has become crucial to the Food Cupboard. Food drives hosted by local organizations, schools and churches are most common in the spring, summer and fall, leading all the way up until Christmas.

“The holiday season, everybody starts donating like crazy and we’re set,” Welch said.

In January, donations routinely drop and don’t bounce back up for months – too long for the December spike to make up for, especially as the demand continues to increase.

“There are fewer donations for three to four months, so we started this Battle of the Neighborhoods,” he said.

This year’s take of 18,895 pounds of food was up roughly 4,000 pounds from last year.

It’s not fair to compare this year’s total to that of the inaugural battle, which brought in 30,000 pounds, Welch said, because the first contest was during the height of the pandemic when food prices were lower and COVID-19’s impact on food insecurity was front and center.

Jill Blackwood and her family challenged fellow members of the Loveitt’s Field and Willard neighborhoods by declaring they’d match donations up to a certain amount.

“We like to make our donations to areas that have a local impact,” Blackwood said. “We enjoy that, rather than putting something in the mail and sending it far, far away.”

For more information on the South Portland Food Cupboard, including how to donate and volunteer, visit southportlandfoodcupboard.org or call 874-0379.