Bar Harbor Food Pantry Buys Mama DiMatteo’s in Bar Harbor

The Bar Harbor Food Pantry has purchased Mama DiMatteo's in Bar Harbor and will relocate from their current home at the YWCA once renovations are complete.

Tom Reeve, the Executive Director of the Food Pantry said "We are sad to say goodbye to our long-time home and will miss the great people at the YWCA. Their support of the Pantry for so many years has made our work possible, but we are thrilled to start this new chapter that will allow us to mee the needs of the growing number in our community who need our help."

The Bar Harbor Food Pantry has been located in the basement of the YWCA for over 25 years. They will continue to be located there until the Food Pantry is able to transform Mama DiMatteo's into a choice-model food pantry tailored to current and potential needs.  The Food Pantry will launch a campaign to raise the rest of the funds needed for renovations, establish a maintenance endowment fund and finalize the building's purchase.

The purchase was made possible through the generosity of 3 MDI residents who supplied almost half of the total project cost and the support of the community.

According to Reeves, the number of households seeking assistance from the Food Pantry has more than doubled since 2022 and the figure is on track to double again in 2024. The surge in demand has stretched the capacity of the current space, particularly the dry and cold storage areas, resulting in shortages of staple good and higher costs for the pantry.

The Bar Harbor Food Pantry operates the Serendipity Resale Shop which is near Mama DiMatteo's