On Dec. 20, Carol Crowley opened the doors of the Church of Nazarene Food Bank in Wiscasset to receive boxes of food donated by Lincoln County Democrats.

The food was collected at the Lincoln County Democrats holiday party and by Valarie Johnson, chairwoman of the Lincoln County Democratic Committee; Tom Eichler, of Wiscasset; and Dean Curran, of Damariscotta.

Crowley, who runs the food bank on Route 27 across from Wiscasset High School, said 25 to 35 families rely on the food bank year-round, but that those numbers go up considerably in the winter months.

“The last couple of weeks we had 45 families,” Crowley said, “and at peak times we can have as many as 140.”

Crowley described the Church community as “closeknit,” adding that some who need food often hold back to leave it for others.

She stressed that those who need food should not do without. She also said monetary donations to the food bank are welcome because it enables them to purchase food at greatly reduced rates from Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn.

The food bank is open every other Sunday noon to 1:30 p.m., or until all orders are filled.

It is a tradition among Democrats to bring food contributions to the holiday party, Lincoln County Democrtats said in a news release.

This year, the names of the area’s eight food banks were entered into a drawing, and Church of Nazarene was selected as the recipient.

The next meeting of the Lincoln County Democratic Committee will be 6:30 p.m. Jan. 23, when committee officers will be elected.